Identity Crisis
by ZanzaGirl
Summary: Riku Yamashita is a wallflower in the tenth grade at Meiou High School. Having known Shuichi since they were in preschool, she knew that they were different than other humans, but didn't quite know how. She's about to find out. NOT a romance!
1. Introduction to My Life

I awoke to someone banging on my bedroom door. "Riku! You have to get up now!" my mother yelled for the fifth time that morning.

Not being much of a morning person, it took much of my self-control not to growl. I was not only awake, but completely dressed as well. I simply hadn't left my room (I showered the night before). I opened your door and grabbed a piece of bacon from the kitchen table. "I'm leaving for school now. Bye Mom!" I called as I walked out the door.

Once at school, I went to my locker and arrived at my classroom twenty minutes before the bell rang. No one else was in the room except the teacher and Shuichi Minamino. When I entered the room, Shuichi looked up and caught my gaze.

I looked back at him cautiously. Although I had known Shuichi since I was born, I still wasn't sure what to think of him. He was a pretty-boy, with long reddish-pink hair and a very polite attitude, which made him extremely popular. Girls in my grade tend to do everything in their power to get him to notice them. The guys all follow him so the girls would think they were his best friend. That annoys me. In fact, I would be completely repulsed by Shuichi Minamino if it weren't for one thing: he was like me.

I have never spoken to him about it, but I know it's true. I sensed it; he too was not human. The problem is, I'm not entirely sure what that means. If I wasn't human, then what was I? I can't seem to figure it out. Time and time again I have contemplated talking to him about it, asking him if he knew what I was, but I never could find a time at school when he was not surrounded by his adoring fans, and I'm not going to follow him home.

That is another reason I don't despise him. Watching him interact with those persistent girls, I've noticed that unlike most popular people, he doesn't seem to enjoy the attention-he hates it. He always seems to get uncomfortable. Even so, he's always polite and never snapps at anyone, which intrigues me. If I had that many people following me around all the time, I would yell at them quite a bit. But I guess that's why he's popular and I'm not.

The classroom began to fill up, signaling that class was about to start. The bell rang, and everyone sat down (with some prodding from the teacher).

Once the room was quiet, the teacher, Ms. Shinomori, began to lecture the class on adding and subtracting matrices. "First, you have to make sure that the matrices are compatible. You do that by…"

Only half-listening to the lecture, I began to doodle on my paper. First I drew a fox, then I drew a fire, and then I moved on to draw a person with fox ears and a tail. Lost in my own little world, I jumped when the bell rang, signaling class to end.

The rest of the day occurred in much the same way. Once school was over, I went to my locker and quickly left the building. I was at the edge of the school grounds when I heard a voice call my name. I turned to see Chiyo, a girl in my class. We weren't what you'd call 'friends,' but we spoke to each other sometimes.

"You dropped these," Chiyo said, holding out some papers. "I figured you might need them."

I thanked her and took the papers. As I turned to leave, something caught my eye.

Shuichi Minamino was walking away from the school, which slightly surprised me, because to my knowledge he always stayed late. The second reason he caught my attention is what made me pause. As he passed under the sakura trees, a breeze caused some of the petals to fall, drifting to the ground around him. The sun streamed softly through the trees, putting the finishing touches on the beautiful portrait. Suddenly, I found myself very jealous of Shuichi Minamino's perfection.


	2. An Interesting Revelation

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters in this story except for Riku, Ms. Shinomori, and Chiyo. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not on here, no?

* * *

Darkness surrounded me, making it hard to breathe. It closed in on me, pressing harder and harder until I thought I would be crushed. Death was swiftly approaching.

I shot up into a sitting position, gasping for breath. Looking about at my surroundings, I realized that I was in my room. I had had the dream again. It was a dream I had been having since the summer. It always managed to wake me up in a cold sweat, but I could never remember what had happened to scare me so much.

Still breathing rapidly, I went downstairs and got a cold soda out of the fridge. Before I opened it I pressed it against my forehead, gasping at the shock of the cold can against my flesh. I glanced at the clock on the microwave; it was 4:18 a.m. I sighed. Once the dream woke me up, I never managed to go back to sleep; it evaded me the rest of the night.

With nothing else to do I got dressed and ready for school, then settled down to read _Pride and Prejudice _by Jane Austin. At seven o'clock, my mother rapped sharply on the door, signaling that it was time for me to get up. I sighed. _When is she going to realize that I'm already dressed by the time she gets up? _I asked myself before grabbing my bag and leaving for school.

I arrived at school early, as usual. Having time to burn, I pulled out my black notebook and began to write.

I would like to consider myself a poet, and hope that someday I will have the courage to show my works to a publisher in hope of getting published. Not that I'm a coward or anything, but poetry is a very personal thing, and is hard to show to others, especially strangers. As I wrote, I lost all track of time, and soon Ms. Shinomori had started the lesson, forcing me to put away my notebook and pretend to listen.

Meanwhile, I had drifted off into another world. I stared at the candle Ms. Shinomori had lit and placed on her desk, watching the flame dance. I became completely absorbed in watching the small flame grow and shrink, grow and shrink… (It was a _really_ boring math class)

I was unpleasantly jerked back to the real world by shrieks of terror. Looking around, I realized that Ms. Shinomori's desk was on fire. _Uh-oh, not good_ I thought. I quickly aided the ones who were brave enough to try to put out the fire (most of the girls were too scared). Once the fire was out, I walked up to Ms. Shinomori. "Um, ma'am, may I go to the restroom?" I requested politely.

"Of course, Miss Yamashita," she replied. I quickly walked down the hallway and found the restroom. Putting my hands on the edge of the sink, I rested my forehead on the mirror and breathed deeply. _I think it's safe to say that was my fault._

When I was calm, I raised my head and looked at my reflection. The girl that stared back at me was 5' 4"and extremely slim. She had short dark brown hair that framed her face. The eyes that looked back at me were a mixture of green, blue, grey, brown, and amber. This girl certainly wasn't a model, but she was by no means ugly.

"Why can't I seem to get it right?" I asked your reflection. This was the first time I had lost control of your powers in public, and I was still shaking. What would happen if someone figured it out?

I sighed and started back towards the classroom. On the way, I met Shuichi.

"There you are," he said. "I was sent to look for you."

"Why? How long was I gone? Wait, you're a guy. Why would she send you to look for me when I said I went to the restroom?" By this point I was thoroughly confused.

Shuichi smiled. "I informed her that I didn't think you looked too well when you left, and probably hadn't even made it to the restroom before you collapsed. I figured a boy should be sent to carry you to the nurse," he told me.

I had a hard time not letting my jaw drop in surprise. Shuichi Minamino was popular- the most popular guy in school, to be exact. He should not be speaking to me, much less asking the teacher if he could take me to the nurse. It broke way too many rules in the game of life. He shouldn't even know my name. _Actually,_ I thought. _I'm not sure if he remembers my name. We haven't spoken in years; at least since second grade._ It was true. Your mothers were best friends, so the two of you had been forced together as toddlers, but once school started Shuichi became popular and you had become a wallflower.

"Have you been under stress lately Riku?" he asked.

_Well, so much for that idea_. "Um, what would make you say that?" I asked.

"You set Ms. Shinomori's desk on fire."

"Oh. That." I looked down at my shoes and blushed. "Not really stress so much as…I don't have too much control over my powers."

It was Shuichi's turn to be surprised. "You mean…"

"I have no clue what I am or how much I can do," I said truthfully. I had too much pride to admit something like this to most people, but for some reason I trusted Shuichi.

He examined my face. "You're serious, aren't you?" he asked after a moment.

I nodded, ashamed. I looked up at him and saw that he was deep in thought. "Is it bad that I don't know?" I asked.

"I don't know that it's _bad,_ it's just not…normal. I've never met an apparition who didn't know what they were or how to control their powers," he said.

I looked at the ground, embarrassed.

"So, since I came here to take you to the nurse, that's probably what I should do," Shuichi commented.

I nodded and allowed myself to be led to the school nurse, who decided I was too sick to stay at school.

"I'll take her home," Shuichi volunteered. "If she can't stay at school, she shouldn't be alone, either."

The nurse agreed with his reasoning, and I was suddenly being led down the hallways yet again by Shuichi Minamino.

When we were halfway to the school doors, my knees gave way under me and I collapsed. Today was not a good day for me.

Shuichi looked at me cautiously. "May I carry you?" he asked hesitantly.

I shook my head, but I was too weak to resist when he swung me up in his arms. I blushed, embarrassed to have to be carried down the hallway, but I was becoming weaker by the second, so I couldn't exactly struggle. Soon I became so weak that I had to close my eyes, and my consciousness began to leave me.

Shuichi stopped at the end of the driveway and I felt his eyes on me. He sighed and then began to walk again. It was then that I lost complete knowledge of what was going on around me.

* * *

When I awoke I was in a well-lit room that was apparently a bedroom. Pictures were on the dresser, and a bouquet of flowers was in a vase. It was a spotlessly neat room that made my slightly ashamed of the disaster area I called my room.

As if on cue, Shuichi entered the room. "I'm sorry I brought you here, it's just that I don't know the directions to your house," he explained. "I knew mother wouldn't mind because she knows you and your mother."

I nodded, still trying to clear my head of the thick fog that resided there. Suddenly I remembered why you were there, and blushed. I don't like being a damsel in distress, especially by someone like Shuichi Minamino. "I'm sorry I fainted on you," I muttered.

"It's quite alright. Why did you pass out?"

"I don't know. I was walking down the hallway with you and suddenly my legs gave out. Maybe whatever made my firepower work on it's own knocked me out, too." Realizing that I was still lying down, I quickly stood up, losing my balance and falling face-first onto the soft carpet. "Ow," I said softly, picking myself up and dusting off.

"Are you alright?" Shuichi asked, stepping towards me.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just stood up too fast," I replied, stepping back. Um, thanks for taking me home-well, your home. I'd better be going now. My mom will worry." I started out the door, but Shuichi stepped in front of me.

"I called your mother and told her where you were. It's not safe for you to be walking home alone at night."

"What time is it!" I asked, glancing around frantically for a clock.

"It is seven-thirty. Almost time to eat. My mother said you could stay in the guest bedroom. Your mother knows of the arrangement."

"And she agreed to it?" I asked incredulously.

"Of course she did. Our mothers are good friends."

"Yeah, but…what did you tell her? You didn't tell her I fainted, did you?"

"No, I just told her you weren't feeling well enough to walk home, even with assistance. She was fine with the arrangement.

"Okay…well, thank you, Shuichi. You really didn't have to do this."

"If I had not, who would have?" he asked quietly.

I blushed, knowing he was right; no one would have cared.

"Come on; it's time to eat," Shuichi said, shattering the awkward silence.

We went downstairs and ate dinner, which was delicious. I can't remember what we ate, though. I have a feeling that the reason the food was good was because the conversation was, too. Ms. Minamino was very kind and welcoming, and always had something to say. Even so, she was a very good listener. The meal was pleasant because I felt like the people I was eating with actually cared about my well-being.

After dinner, Shuichi and I went into the living room and did our homework. I consider myself fairly smart, seeing as I rank third in out class at school, behind Shuichi and Kaito. The only subject that troubled me was math, which Shuichi figured out right away. He helped me with the particularly difficult parts, which was extremely embarrassing on my part; I hate needing help. I guess I'm just an extremely independent person. Even so, I must admit that I need help with math. I still manage to make all A's, but only because I'm an exceptionally lucky person.

Once we had finished our homework, Shuichi showed me to the guest bedroom and lent me some sweats to sleep in. Still exhausted from the afternoon, I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

* * *

I'm sorry if this chapter looks like it's turning into a romance. I promise you it isn't! I can't stand mush! I hope you guys like it! I won't update until I find out someone is actually reading this.


	3. The Truth Can Set You Free

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters in this story except for Riku, Ms. Shinomori, and Chiyo. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not on here, no?

* * *

I awoke groggily to someone knocking on my door. "Go away," I groaned.

They knocked again. "Riku, you need to get up," they said.

"Go away, Mom. I'll get up in a minute."

I heard the door open and felt someone shake my shoulder gently. "Riku, it's Shuichi. You need to get up now."

My eyes shot open. "Shuichi! What are you doing in-" I suddenly remembered where I was. "…your room. Never-mind; I'm getting up."

Shuichi smiled at my morning disoriented-ness.

"My mother washed your clothes," he said, handing me my school uniform.

"Oh; tell her I said thank you." I took the clothes he offered me and asked if I could take a shower.

He nodded and showed me the way to the restroom, pointing out where everything was that I might need. Then he left me alone to shower.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later I came out of the shower, refreshed and awake. How are we on time?" I asked Shuichi.

"We have more than enough time," he assured me.

Once we were both dressed and ready we stepped outside into the early morning air. I stopped short in the doorway. "Shuichi?"

"Yes?"

"It's still dark outside."

"I know," he replied calmly.

"School doesn't start until eight."

"I know," he said again.

"What time do you get to school!" I asked, amazed.

"Who said we were going straight to school?" he countered, smiling with the satisfaction of knowing something that I didn't. He turned and began to walk away without another word.

Confused, I followed him down the road and into a wooded park. Once we were fairly far into the woods, he turned to me. "You said you didn't understand your inhumanity, and that you didn't quite know the extent of your powers, am I correct?" he inquired.

I nodded, finally aware of what we were doing.

Shuichi took a deep breath and began to explain. "In reality, there are three worlds, not just this one: the Ningenkai, the Makai, and the Reikai. The Ningenkai consists of Humans, the Reikai of Spirits and such, and the Makai of Demons. We are now, obviously, in the Ningenkai, although, as you have already pointed out, we are anything but Humans. Can you guess what we are?"

I thought a moment, but came up with a blank; I'm not good at guessing games. "Well, you've already confirmed that we're not Human, I know I'm not dead, and I'm fairly sure that I'm not a Demon. I concede; what are we?"

He replied by asking me another question. "What do you think of when you think of Demons?"

I thought a moment before answering. "I think of Fallen Angels. I think of Spirits that attack our souls in a savage attempt to destroy us and bring us down to Hell with them," I finally responded.

Shuichi smiled slightly; a sad smile. "We are speaking of two separate species. The Demons you see are the spiritual Demons, demons that are not physical. We are only their namesake."

I stared at him, reality starting to sink in. "You mean to say that we are Demons?" I asked softly. At his nod, I continued. "There must be some resemblance between the two species, or we wouldn't share a name," I commented.

"There are some resemblances: Many are hideous, like Humans picture Demons to be; Many are ill-mannered and cruel, lacking in intelligence; Many are thieves, murderers, and liars. It's not too difficult to see how Humans began to call us Demons."

"The description you gave me is no different from that of Humans," I noted.

"True; Demons are just more open about there sins. But not all Demons are evil. Some, like us, are clever, honest, kind, and well-mannered. We are not liars or tyrants," he looked directly into my eyes as he spoke, leaving no doubt about the truth of his words in my mind.

I didn't notice until much later that he said nothing about us not being murderers or thieves.


	4. Trying To Mend Our Wings

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters in this story except for Riku, Ms. Shinomori, and Chiyo. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not on here, no?

* * *

Shuichi checked his watch. "We had better get to school," he said, smiling.

Although I had a million questions I wanted to ask him, I nodded, knowing he was right.

* * *

At school, it was life as usual. In first period I sat in my usual seat and did my usual spacing-out. The only difference was that this time, I was thinking about the fact that I was a demon. As usual, a poem began to form itself into my mind. Picking up the pen on my desk that I was supposed to be taking notes with, I quickly scribbled it down.

_Light is such a fragile thing,_

_Scattered by the smallest prism_

_Light can be destroyed by the slightest whim_

_As light is, so is Life_

_The smallest sin leads to Death_

_And by our sin, we fall_

_Our humanity leads to Death_

_And our instincts lead us to Hell_

_But Humans get a second chance,_

_A third, a fourth and a fifth_

_No matter how much we blemish our lives_

_We can always atone for our deeds_

_But what of the Inhuman_

_Of those who look and act but are not,_

_Cannot, be Human_

_What fate do the Fallen have?_

_One sin leads Angels straight to Hell,_

_One mistake to the Abyss_

_Why do Humans get a lifetime of choices,_

_But Angels only have one?_

_Is there any hope for the Fallen?_

_Any way to save their souls?_

_Is there any way to repent,_

_For a Demon trying to mend their wings?_

Once done, I sighed softly to myself. Was there any hope? I had written it from a Human's perspective just in case someone found it, but it was really about myself and Shuichi, the Fallen- or close enough. _Are we really Fallen? Shuichi said that we were not the Demons of religion, but we aren't Human, either. What fate does that leave us?_ I thought sadly.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. I closed my notebook and went to my next class. Throughout the duration of the day I stayed in my daze- that is, until Japanese. As I've said before, I love to write, so Japanese is my favorite class. As I sat down, I read the note the teacher, Ms. Fujiwara, had written on the board.

_Write a poem about anything you feel like. It can be in any format, including freeform. _

I smiled slightly. Ms. Fujiwara always had a way of giving the perfect assignments. I quickly made a copy of my poem and turned it in. I wouldn't turn that poem in to most teachers, but I trusted that Ms. Fujiwara would like it. Since I completed the assignment early, I had time to read, which I used.

Once school was over, I started the long journey home on foot. Because of a lack of money, I live on the other side of town than Meiou, where the houses are not as expensive. Unfortunately, it is a very bad part of town. It wasn't going to be a problem, because my dad was going to be home to take us places, but recently he got promoted into a job that keeps him away most of the time, leaving my mother and me to take care of ourselves. I attend Meiou instead of Saryashiki because my parents wanted me to go to a decent school, even if we did live in a crummy part of town; Saryashiki was way too dangerous for a girl like me (skinny and weak).

Once I got home, I made myself dinner and began to work on my homework. My mother never gets home until six, so I have to take care of myself until then. After I finished my homework, I read until I fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning I woke up refreshed and energized the effects of getting a good night's sleep. I quickly got dressed and left for school.

I walked into the classroom half an hour before school started, as I normally do. Shuichi was already at his desk, as he normally is. Hearing my name, I looked in the direction it came from: Shuichi Minamino.

"Riku, why don't you sit over here today?" he asked.

This was not what normally happened. _What is he doing? Doesn't he know he shouldn't be talking to me? Doesn't he know I'll ruin his reputation? Can't he see the black nail polish? Doesn't he know that I'm a loner that everyone ignores? What is he thinking?_ Although these thoughts invaded my mind, I sat down wordlessly behind Shuichi.

He turned around and looked at me. "Are you okay?"

How was I supposed to answer that? 'Yes, Shuichi, I'm just peachy, especially after our conversation yesterday?' I don't think so. "I'm fine," I answered shortly before pulling out a book and reading.

"Are you really?"

I looked up at him with a frustrated expression on my face. "What do you think?" I asked harshly.

"I think that you have a lot to think over, and it might be best if you had someone to talk to," he replied quietly.

"Yes, because you've always been there for me in the past," I noted sarcastically. "I don't need anyone."

Shuichi stared at me for a long moment. "Very well; just know that I am always here," he said before turning around.

After a time, the class began to fill up with teenagers. I could tell that some of them were surprised to see Shuichi and I sitting by one another. Shuichi turned to me yet again.

"You said you needed some assistance in mathematics. Can you come to my house this afternoon?"

I blinked a few times before I realized what he was _really _talking about. He wanted me to come over so he could explain more about this apparition business. "Of course. Do you have any after-school activities?" I asked.

"No. I'll meet you at your locker after school."

* * *

I will correct my spelling for the name of Yusuke and Kuwabara's school, I promise. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! I'm glad you all like my story!

ChaosLee

Rahenne

Inari's angel

Bloodredroseindarkblackflames

InuKurama

KamariaMalika

RedRoseInADarkAlley

Sorry for any misspelled names in there. If I misspelled yours, just correct me and I'll fix it. Thanks again!


	5. Finally Getting Some Answers

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters in this story except for Riku, Ms. Shinomori, and Chiyo. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not on here, no?

Thanks to all who reviewed sine my last entry:

Inari's angel – I'm sorry the last one was so boring. I needed to put a break in the action, though. If you put action-packed chapter after action-packed chapter, it gets kind of old. I'll try to make it better, though, I promise.

bloodredroseindarkblckflames - I'm glad you like my story. I'm trying to make it good and readable.

* * *

After school I stayed at my locker and waited for Shuichi, just like I had promised. After a few minutes, I spotted him walking towards me.

"Are you ready?" he asked. At my nod, the two of us set off to his house.

When we got to his house, I excused myself to the bathroom and changed into a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt that I keep in backpack in case I don't go straight home after school; I absolutely hate wearing skirts.

"Now what?" I asked, re-entering Shuichi's room.

"Now we go to a place where we won't be overheard. I don't think my family will take too kindly to this conversation," he said, picking up a backpack and exiting the room with me on his tail. "Mother, we're going to the park to study," Shuichi told his mother.

"Okay, Shuichi. Have fun," the sweet woman replied.

* * *

We walked to the park in silence. Shuichi lead me to a desolate place deep in the woods, safe from Human ears. When we reached a small clearing, he stopped and turned to face me. "First I need to figure out how much you know, so that I can know what to teach you and what to leave out."

"Well," I began, unsure. "I know that we are apparitions, and that I can control fire. You already explained that there are three worlds. That's the extent of my knowledge."

Shuichi stared at me for a moment, trying to find a good starting point for what he was about to tell me. "In the Reikai, the ruler is King Enma. His son, Koenma, takes care of many affairs for him. I know Koenma on a personal basis.

"There are many different types of Demons. Most can be categorized as either elementals or as animals. I am a fox Demon with control over plants. You are most likely either a fire apparition or an animal apparition with control over fire. Any questions so far?"

"Why aren't our parents apparitions? Unless your father is…?" I asked.

"No, he is not. Three hundred years ago, I was a fox demon named Yoko. I was killed by a bounty hunter. When I died, I sent my soul to an unborn child so young that it did not yet have a soul. The timing for that moment was crucial, for children get their souls very early in a pregnancy. Technically, I suppose you could say that there are two of me, since Yoko is a separate person, but we are really the same being. I'm guessing you had a similar incident, although I'm not quite sure why you don't remember anything. I don't remember specific details of my life, but I know who and what I am. It's quite curious that you have absolutely no memory of anything."

"Okay, I think I understand. Is there anything else I need to know about?"

"Not at the moment. If I think of anything else, I shall tell you. Now we can focus on your training," he replied.

"Training?"

"Yes; You need to know how to make use of your powers. I may not be the best teacher, but I seem to be the only one available to you, since I doubt Hiei will help."

"Who's Hiei?"

"A friend of mine. He's a fire apparition, but I don't think he will help you; at least, not for the time being. Now, before I start, how much control do you have over your abilities?"

"I've never accidentally started a fire until today; everything I've attempted works just fine," I answered, proud of myself.

"So, can you create fire or can you simply control it?" he asked me.

"Well, I can make it by concentrating on a point of heat, like sunlight, but I've never tried to create fire in the dark," I explained.

"Show me," he requested.

I looked around and spotted a sunbeam that had found its way through the trees. I squinted my eyes and concentrated on that point of light. After a few moments, a flame appeared where the light was. I knelt down to pick it up and looked to Shuichi for approval.

"That's good," he said. "Can you make it bigger?"

I quickly obliged. The flame grew until it filled the palm of my hand.

"Alright." He glanced at his watch. "It's about time to get back to my house. Besides, I need to think about how to train you further. I can't really do anything, since I have control over plants. Furthermore, I refuse to fight you; I don't want to fight a girl, and I might accidentally injure you."

"Alright, I'll give you time to think about it. I guess I'll practice using my powers in the dark until you find something else for me to do."

Shuichi agreed that this was a good idea, and we started back to his house. When we got there, Ms. Minamino informed Shuichi that he had a visitor.

"He's upstairs in your room," she said, smiling.

We went into his room to find a guy about a year younger than ourselves, with brown eyes and black slicked-back hair reclining on Shuichi's bed. He stood when we entered the room.

"Hey, Kurama," he greeted. "Who's the girl? I thought you didn't like anyone?"

I blushed. "No, it's not like that…" I began. With my junior high friends I was used to others suggesting an intimate relationship, but this kid was a complete stranger.

"Riku and I are just friends, Yusuke," Shuichi stated.

Yusuke looked me over carefully. "Yeah, whatever," he finally replied. "Anyway, I'm here on business. Do you think we could talk alone?"

"Riku can stay here," Shuichi said. "She'll be fine."

"Fine. Somebody stole the old smoke-box out of King Enma's safe. Y'know, the one that turns you into Yoko. Koenma decided to give us the job of getting it back, since we already know how it works; and because it doesn't exactly have the desired effect on you, Kurama," he added with a grin.

"Kurama?" I questioned. The whole conversation confused me, but I figured I should start with the question that sounded like it would be the simplest to answer.

"Yoko's full name is Yoko Kurama, so we refer to myself as Kurama," Shuichi clarified.

"Right. So, who's this?" I asked, indicating the boy.

"This is Yusuke Urameshi. Yusuke, this is Riku Yamashita; she attends my school."

"Yusuke Urameshi? As in, THE Yusuke Urameshi?"

"The one and only," Yusuke replied.

"Riku, it's probably time for you to be getting home," Shuichi commented.

I looked at the clock on his bedside stand. "Oh, no!" I gasped. "My mom's gonna spaz if I don't get home soon! She's always afraid that I'm gonna get mugged on my way home."

"Where do you live?" Yusuke asked me.

"6th Street," responded.

"Your mom's right to worry; that's in my neighborhood. I'll walk her home, Kurama; there's no point in you leaving again when it's on my way."

Shuichi thought about it. "I suppose. Just don't hurt her, Yusuke."

"What are you talking about, fox-boy? I am a perfect gentleman, especially when it comes to girls," Yusuke answered, pretending to be indignant.

"Of course you are," Shuichi replied sarcastically.

This exchange did not make me feel any safer than I had before about walking home with Yusuke Urameshi.

* * *

As we walked home, I made sure to stay as far away from him as I could and still say I was walking with him, because I knew that no one would even think about attacking someone who was with Yusuke Urameshi.

He noticed this and smirked. "I'm not gonna bite, ya know," he joked.

I looked at him dubiously.

"Do you seriously think that Kurama would let me walk you home if he thought for a moment that I would hurt you?"

"I suppose not," I replied.

"Okay, then. What kind of Demon are you, anyway?"

"Fire," I replied.

"Fire, eh? Hiei's got some competition, then."

We walked on in silence. I walked a bit closer to Yusuke.

"So…if you live in this part of town, why do you go to Meiou with Kurama? Why don't you go to Sarayashiki?"

I raised an eyebrow. 'Why do you think? My mother is afraid I'll be raped or killed if I go to school there."

"Well, I have to admit, she has a point."

By this time, we were at my house. "Thanks for taking me home," I said gratefully.

"No problem. Any friend of Kurama's is a friend of mine."

"Well, good-bye."

"See ya."

I walked inside to find my mother by the window, wringing her hands anxiously. "Riku, where have you been! I was worried sick!" she cried.

"I was at Shuichi's house doing homework. I didn't think you'd be home to miss me, and I kinda lost track of the time," I responded.

"Who was that boy who was with you just now? I haven't seen Shuichi in quite some time, but I know that's not him."

"That's a friend of Shuichi's. I just met him today. He walked me home so Shuichi wouldn't have to leave his house to come over here this late at night, since he had to get home himself," I elucidated.

My mother looked slightly dubious, but sighed. "I'm just glad you're home safe. I'm going to bed now; good-night."

"G'night," I returned, going up to my room and changing into my pajamas before curling up on my bed and falling asleep until I was aroused by my usual nameless nightmare.


	6. More Confusion

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters in this story except for Riku, Ms. Shinomori, and Chiyo. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not on here, no?

Thanks to all who reviewed. I greatly appreciate both compliments and critique.

* * *

I awoke, once again, to my formless nightmare. I glanced at the clock, which told me with its bright red letters that it was almost four-thirty. I sighed and swung my feet over the edge of the bed. Gathering my clothes and a radio, I locked myself into the bathroom and turned the radio on, quietly so as not to disturb my parents.

I took a long shower, letting the hot water sooth me from my disturbed state of mind. I've discovered that in times of stress, a hot shower is a good way to relax.

After getting dressed I surfed the internet for awhile until it was time for me to leave for school.

At school I once again ventured to sit beside Shuichi. I wondered to myself whether this raised my social status or lowered his. I wasn't particularly fond of either happening. I was satisfied with being a wallflower and letting everyone ignore me; that way, I couldn't ruin anyone's life and they couldn't ruin mine.

"Lessons again?" Shuichi asked me.

"Yes. Thank you for helping me, Shuichi," I added.

"Not at all; we're friends, right?"

I paused to think about the question before I answered it. Did I want friends? "Yes," I finally replied. "We're friends."

* * *

At the end of the day, we met at the front doors of the school and walked to his house. Yusuke had apparently been waiting for us to show up, because he came out of the trees beside Shuichi's house as we approached.

"Hey, guys. Hiei said he'd meet us in the clearing." He looked at me skeptically. "You're sure you want to bring her?" he asked Shuichi. "If she gets involved, she might get hurt."

"I just want her to meet Hiei. I won't involve her any further than this," Shuichi replied in his usual soft voice.

Yusuke shrugged. "Whatever. I guess we'll leave when Kuwabara gets here."

We only had to wait a few minutes before a tall, gawky teenager ran up to our group. He placed his hands on his knees and panted heavily. "Sorry…I'm…late…" he wheezed. "Had…to…study….before…Shizuru…would let…me go." Suddenly, the breathless teen noticed me. "Who're you?" he asked.

"This is Riku, a classmate of mine," Shuichi stated. "Riku, this is Kuwabara. He attends school with Yusuke, when Yusuke decided to go."

"It's nice to meet you," I said politely. I wondered if it was, still not quite sure what to think of these Sarayashiki kids.

"Nice to meet you too," Kuwabara said, holding out a hand to shake.

I complied courteously.

"Well, I guess it's time to go," Shuichi said, starting off towards the woods.

"What about the shrimp?" Kuwabara asked. "Not that I want him coming, but Koenma told us to get him, too."

"He's meeting us there," Yusuke said absentmindedly.

When we got to the clearing, it was empty-or so I thought.

A small figure jumped from the trees that surrounded us and landed gracefully on the ground before us. He looked at me carefully, his crimson eyes emotionless. "Who is this? I thought this was a meeting about Reikai business, not a social gathering." His voice was smooth and emotionless, just like his hair-raising eyes.

I repressed the urge to step back, away from his penetrating gaze in fear. It wouldn't do to be labeled a coward by the only friends I had, especially this bunch- although Shuichi was really the only one I considered the friend, and Yusuke was getting there.

"Riku will not bother us, I assure you. She is a fire apparition and might even be able to assist us in some way." Those words, of course, came from Shuichi.

"Hn. I doubt she can help us; she looks too weak to kill Kuwabara, much less a real opponent."

Kuwabara's complaint was droned out by Yusuke speaking up. "Yeah, well, you don't look as if you could do much damage, either, but you're pretty tough."

Hiei gave me one last dismissing glance. "Fine."

"Okay, on to business. Basically, somebody stole the baby-making smoke box out of King Enma's vault, and pacifier-breathe has to get it back for him. In other words, we have to do it," Yusuke explained simply.

"Do you know who took it?" Shuichi asked.

"Some plant demon or other. He's supposedly staying somewhere in the mountains, close to the old hags, dojo."

"Is there a plan?" Shuichi asked again, but it seemed as though he already knew the answer.

"The four of us guys run in there and take it back by force," Yusuke said. He had apparently just thought of that. "While the Keiko goes nuts trying to keep me safe by worrying," he added as an afterthought. "We'll leave tomorrow."

"Who said I was going to help?" Hiei asked.

"Well, since you agreed to come to the meeting-" Kuwabara began.

"I came to find out what was going on, not to help keep Humans safe."

Shuichi looked slightly exasperated. I guessed that he the group had had this argument before. "What if we could convince Koenma to let you off probation early?" he suggested.

"My help will be of little use if he uses the box; you're the only one it doesn't affect."

"And if he doesn't use the box?" Shuichi said.

"You can manage without me," The demon replied.

"Come on Hiei, stop being a coward!" Yusuke shouted. "A real man wouldn't be afraid to do this!"

"Don't think you can goad me into your fight," Hiei sneered.

"Fine; I guess we'll just have to take Yukina with us, since she's the only other ice demon we know." Yusuke said, shrugging.

Hiei's scarlet eyes narrowed. "You don't need an ice demon," he said.

"Actually, we do. Ice is the one thing that can keep the smoke-in-the-box from turning us all into toddlers- except fox-boy over there."

Hiei glared at Yusuke. "Fine, I'll come."

The only person besides myself that was confused was Kuwabara, and even he seemed to understand better than I did. "What's going on?" I asked Shuichi quietly.

"Nothing that you need to worry about," Hiei answered for him. "Now if we're done here, I'm leaving," he said. Before anyone had time to respond, he had already left the clearing.

The rest of us walked through the woods together and went our separate ways once we were free of the forest. Yusuke offered to walk me home again, and I accepted his suggestion. Walking alone at night wasn't safe in my neighborhood, as I've said repeatedly before.

My mother looked at me strangely when I got home, but said nothing. I ate a late dinner and did my homework, then listened to the radio until I fell asleep, still curious about the day's happenings.


	7. The Mission

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to read this series, and more thanks to everyone who has reviewed.

* * *

The next day I ran to school, having overslept. I had expected to wake up at five, as I usually did, so I hadn't bothered settling my alarm clock. Unfortunately, it was the one night that I had an undisturbed sleep. Even though I ran, I still managed to be late to Algebra. I slipped into the vacant seat behind Shuichi, as was becoming daily routine. "Nervous?" I whispered.

"No," he whispered in reply. "I'll be fine. We're meeting in the entrance of the park after school is over to form a plan. Do you want to come?"

My eyes widened in surprise. I had gotten the distinct feeling that their mission would be too dangerous for girls.

Shuichi sensed this and quickly corrected himself. "Just so you'll know what the plan is, not to actually take part in it. I'm not going to put you in danger."

"Okay." I suddenly realized how confused anyone would be if they were eavesdropping on us. The conversation would seem quite absurd, especially in the middle of math class. I chuckled quietly to myself, trying to remain silent.

Apparently it didn't work, because Shuichi looked for a moment as if he was going to turn around, then seemed to change his mind and whispered, "What's so funny?"

I couldn't speak for fear of bursting into laughter, so I quickly scribbled it onto a piece of paper, hoping that it was legible in spite of my laughter. He read it, and then shook his head slightly in amusement. The paper quickly found its way back to me.

_I suppose it would, wouldn't it? As would most of our conversations._

Thankfully, no one else seemed to notice our exchange, laughter included.

* * *

After school I went to the park with Shuichi to meet up with the guys. They were all already there.

"Okay!" Yusuke stated. "Now, that we're all here, I have an announcement to make: I have a plan!"

I think it's safe to say that they all looked fairly surprised at Yusuke's announcement.

"What is your plan?" Shuichi asked cautiously.

"Since you're the only one that can still fight after the smoke box comes out, you'll hunt down this guy and see if you can take him on alone. The rest of us will be at the dojo, waiting. Hiei will stay in contact with you at all times with his creepy third eye. If you need help, we'll be there in a flash."

I bit my lip and suppressed the urge to tell them that was a stupid plan. To send one person to take on a guy who could break into the king's vault! It was unthinkable!

"It seems as though the girl doesn't like your plan, detective," Hiei said to Yusuke.

Yusuke looked over at me and smirked. "Don't worry about Kurama; the pretty-boy's tougher than he looks," he assured me.

"It doesn't matter! Sending one person to take on someone who's obviously quite powerful is insane!" I exclaimed.

"I'm tellin' ya, fox-boy can handle it. And if he can't, we can be there as soon as he needs us. Nobody's gonna get hurt. Have a little faith, will ya?"

"I guess there's not really anything else I can do, is there?" I asked, a sarcastic gleam in my eyes.

"Nope," Yusuke replied.

"May I note that the person you're discussing is standing right beside you?" Hiei said.

I gasped slightly and blushed. "I apologize, Shuichi; it's not my place to say what you can or can't do."

"Can we just go already? I want to see Yukina!" Kuwabara complained.

I noticed that Hiei scowled at this, but said nothing.

"Kuwabara's right; we need to get going," Yusuke agreed.

"I'll start tracking him now. Yusuke, please take Riku home. I believe Hiei and Kuwabara both need to get to the dojo, and you already know the way to her house." Shuichi requested.

Yusuke nodded, and we all went our separate ways.

When I got home, my mother was already there. "Mom! What are you doing here?" I asked, surprised. As I said before, she's usually not home until late.

"I got off early today. For the next couple of days there's a chance I'll get off early, so I might be home when you get here sometimes."

"Okay."

We ate dinner together, and then I went along with my usual nightly routine of homework, music, and sleep.

* * *

I was in a dark, cold room, which was moving very fast. I tried to stand and couldn't. With a start, I realized that I was bound tightly. When I struggled, the rope only got tighter, and the room moved faster.

With a jolt, I awoke and realized that I had been dreaming. But, for some unknown reason, I was still moving. I now realized that I was being held, not tied up. I opened my eyes and let out a strangled scream of surprise to find Hiei being my kidnapper. "Hiei! What-?"

"We're almost there," he interrupted.

I tried to look at my surroundings, but Hiei was running too fast; everything around me was a blur. Suddenly he stopped, and we were in an office. Yusuke and Kuwabara were already there, along with a toddler behind the desk.

Hiei dropped me onto the floor and I quickly picked myself up.

"I am Koenma, prince of the Reikai," the toddler announced to me.

I bowed slightly to him before turning to the others. "What's going on?" I asked. "What happened?"

Koenma looked nervously at Yusuke before explaining. "We've lost track of Kurama," he explained.

"What?" I repeated weakly.

"Hiei was keeping in touch with him telepathically, and then the connection broke suddenly. We don't yet know why, but we're going to find out. Yusuke said you were a friend of Kurama's that he was training, and Hiei suggested that they take you with them to get Kurama." The toddler looked at me carefully. "Do you want to come?"

I nodded. "Yes," I croaked. "I'll come."

"Are you crazy!" Yusuke shouted at me. "No offense, but you're way too weak. I'm telling you, we'll get him back. He won't get hurt."

I shook my head. "You also said that no one would get hurt. I'm coming."

"What, so you can be killed? We don't know it Kurama's hurt or not. He's probably fine."

"If any of you get hurt, I want to be there. I don't have any friends but you guys, and I'm gonna go with you."

"Let her come," Hiei said, startling us all. "Kurama said he wanted to know what would happen if she came in contact with the smoke of the box, so now's our chance to find out."

"Somehow, I don't think he meant 'Let's throw her into the most dangerous situation possible' when he said that," Yusuke commented wryly.

"You said yourself that there was no danger, that Shuichi wasn't going to be harmed. If that's the case, then why would it be dangerous for me?"

"Because you're a girl, that's why!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

Yusuke hit Kuwabara on the head. "That's not it, moron. It's that you're too weak; you haven't had any training. Kurama's one of the strongest demons I know. You just figured out you were a demon a few days ago."

"I don't care; I'm going. Koenma and Hiei said it's alright, so it's alright."

"Fine," Yusuke grumbled. "But since it was your idea, Hiei, you're the one baby-sitting her."

"Hn." Hiei acknowledged. I wasn't sure if that was a yes or a no.

"Okay, guys, now that we have that settled," Koenma broke in. "I'll get Botan to take you to the last place that Hiei had contact with Kurama. Botan!"

A cheery girl with bright blue hair and a pink kimono appeared. "Yes, Koenma sir?" She then caught sight of me. "Who are you? I'm Botan, nice to meet you! I'm known by most as the grim reaper!" she said perkily.

I blinked as she shook my hand vigorously. "The grim reaper?" I repeated, dazed.

"Strangely enough, yeah," Yusuke said.

"Botan, this is Riku," Koenma said to her. "She is a friend of the gangs."

"Then why haven't I met you yet?" Botan asked, confused and slightly sad.

"I just met everyone else a few days ago. I attend school with Shuichi," I explained.

Botan immediately became serious. "Oh. Well, then, we'll just have to hurry up and get Kurama back home safe as soon as possible, not the wouldn't already. What was it that you needed, Koenma?"

Koenma sighed. "I need you to make them a portal to where Hiei says he last had contact with Kurama," he finally explained. "It was right around here, wasn't it, Hiei?"

Hiei nodded to confirm what Koenma said.

"Alrighty! Let's go then. Portal for three?"

"Four," I corrected her.

She looked at me strangely for a moment, but said nothing at Hiei's nod. "Right this way, then." She quickly conjured a swirling blue portal out of nowhere.

Hiei and Yusuke stepped in bravely. Kuwabara stayed behind. "Ladies first," he said, gesturing towards the portal.

I nodded and stepped in. The sound of a rushing wind filled my ears, and there was a strong sensation of falling. This lasted for a few seconds, and then I was on my feet in a small clearing in a forest with Yusuke and Hiei. Kuwabara soon joined us, tumbling to the ground with a thud.

Terrified, I spun around to face a different part of the forest. I searched the woods carefully, looking for any tell-tale signs of what I had just felt.

"What's wrong? There's nothing there," Kuwabara said to me.

"Exactly," Hiei replied.

He was right. The forest looked just the same as the rest of the woods surrounding us, but it felt like emptiness. It was like there was nothing there at all, like it had just disappeared. I couldn't sense anything from that direction, Human or otherwise. "What is it?" I whispered.

"I don't know," Hiei said. "I've never encountered the likes of it before. I can't sense anything inside. I'm going to guess that's where Kurama went."

"It's very dangerous," I said softly. "It would be easy for anyone to sneak up on us and kill us."

"Do you want to go back?" Yusuke asked.

I shook my head. "I'll be fine." _I've come this far already; there's no point in turning back now._ I slowly approached the strange, almost non-existent area of forest. "I'll go first."

I could tell that they didn't think that was a good idea, but they didn't complain. When I reached the edge of the clearing, I stopped. Drawing a deep breath, I plunged my foot into the forest. Nothing happened. My right foot felt no different than my left. I breathed a short-lived sigh of relief before following my foot into the trees.

* * *

I hope you liked it. Sorry it's taking me awhile to post these, but I lead a busy life. Sayonara!

* * *


	8. The Forest

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to read this series, and more thanks to everyone who has reviewed.

I'm sorry It's so short.

* * *

Suddenly, my senses of perception and smell vanished, and everything went silent. It was like a blanket had been draped over my head, cutting off all awareness. I looked around myself. There was no noise at all; no birds chirruping or insects buzzing; no wind rusting the grass. It was a dead world. I wondered if my sense of hearing was gone, or if it was just quiet. "Bleck," I said aloud, just to see if I could hear.

Turing to the guys, I called out to them, telling them it was safe. Eerie, but safe. They just stared at me, their expressions blank. _They can't hear me because they're on the outside of this warp _I realized. So I signaled to them instead.

A few words were spoken between the three, and Yusuke and Hiei joined me in the strange part of the forest.

"Why did Kuwabara stay back?" I inquired.

"If we don't come back in two hours he'll call Botan, then come after us," Yusuke explained.

"Great," I said half-sarcastically. I was secretly glad that we had back-up.

"My Jagan is useless here," Hiei said. "And it's impossible to pick up Kurama's scent. We'll have to just wander until we locate him."

I swallowed. This was getting more and more dangerous. Wandering around a dead forest was not on the top of my _to do _list. _It's for my friends_ I told myself.

We tread as softly as possible through the woods, myself in front. I wet my lips nervously, hoping the other two didn't notice. The strange atmosphere made me very jumpy, and I began to count footsteps, making sure that the only ones I heard were those belonging to the group. Hiei made no noise, but Yusuke was fairly loud. A few minutes in the silence seemed like an eternity.

Suddenly I was pushed to the ground roughly. I stifled a scream as I went down. I looked at my attacker and was surprised to see Hiei, looking around suspiciously with his sword drawn. "What was that for?" I hissed.

"Hn," he replied, standing up and cleaning his sword off with some leaves.

I looked at the ground and gasped slightly at the sight of a spider about ten times the size of a tarantula. How had I not seen that think come towards me? "Thank you, Hiei."

"Hn."

The danger of the forest hit me like a ton of bricks. There was no sense of smell or perception. If someone was quiet enough, they could sneak up and kill all three of us before we ever even realized they were there. I hadn't even noticed Hiei until he had already pushed me down. This knowledge only served to make me more nervous, looking around every five seconds for some unknown predator.

After walking for I don't know how long through the trees, we heard voices. We slowed and slipped toward the sounds as silently as possible. We went until we were almost to the sources of the voices, with only a few bushes separating us and the clearing. We were close enough to hear, but the bushes hindered our sight. We dared not move for fear of them seeing us, though, so we stayed where we were, hearing but not seeing.

"Ever since that day, I spent all of my time looking for a way to kill Yoko Kurama," said an unfamiliar voice. The voice was a high-pitched buzzing sound. "After years went by, I was told that he had been killed by a bounty hunter. I stopped searching, but I never forgave Yoko Kurama.

"A year ago, however, I heard news that Yoko had been reborn in the Ningenkai, as a human. I then put all of my energy into finding a way to meet him again and settle the score. And I've finally found it. You and this box are all that I need to destroy Yoko Kurama once and for all, finally exacting my revenge!"

"I apologize for keeping you waiting this long, but you will have to wait some more. I will never let you kill me," Shuichi said to the other person.

"I don't think you can stop me." Smoke began to fill the clearing.

I stood, ready to run into the clearing, but Yusuke grabbed my wrist. "We have to help Shuichi!" I hissed as loud as I dared. "He's going to die!"

"How many times do I have to tell you? Kurama's tougher than he looks! He can take that insect-demon on with no problem!" Yusuke hissed back.

"And what if he can't! He has no way of letting us know he needs help through this fog!"

"I promise you, we'll know if he needs us."

My shoulders slumped. "Fine," I capitulated. "We'll do it your way."

"We need to move or the smoke will engulf us," Hiei interrupted. "And that would not be a good thing."

"You're right," agreed Yusuke. He let go of me and we moved farther away from the clearing.

"Why wouldn't it be a good thing?" I asked suspiciously.

"Uh…we need to stay out of the smoke because I'm allergic," Yusuke admitted.

I raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"I'm serious! I'm allergic to smoke. I don't like telling people because I'm supposed to be a tough-guy, but it's true."

"Okay." Then, without warning, I turned and ran into the smoke to find Shuichi.


	9. Yoko and Asuka

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to read this series, and more thanks to everyone who has reviewed.

* * *

I shivered as the cool mist enveloped my body, making it impossible to tell where I was going. I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face, much less Shuichi and the insect demon. I quickly got lost due to the forests ability to remove my sense of perception, but I kept moving anyway.

After minutes of wandering aimlessly, I ran into something. It grabbed me, so I guessed that it was a person. I only came up to the person's chest, so it couldn't be Shuichi. I was almost as tall as Shuichi. That meant unidentified being had to be the insect demon.

So there we stood, immobile, until the fog cleared enough for us to see one another. I looked up to see a man with long silver tresses and narrow amber eyes that gleamed coldly, even though there was no sunlight. Silver fox ears stuck out of his silvery locks. He wore a white toga-like garment.

I furrowed my brow. This was not Shuichi, but it most certainly wasn't the insect demon, either. _Maybe he's an accomplice of the insect demon? _I considered. _I don't know how many people are actually in the clearing, only how many spoke. _I bit my lip and tried hard to control my shaking, caused by the cold and terror.

The fox demon's features flickered slightly between surprise and anger, and then finally decided to pull into a slight smile. "Asuka. I thought I told you not to follow me," he commented. "But I can't say that I'm not glad to see you again."

I struggled to pull away, but the kitsune's grip was too tight. "Who…are…you…?" I said as I fought.

"You don't remember me? I'm hurt." He was smirking sarcastically, but I saw real pain behind the glint. "Asuka, one would think that you, of all people, would remember the thief Yoko."

"You must be mistaken. I'm not Asuka; my name is Riku."

"So Shuichi's Riku is really Asuka," the one called Yoko mused.

"I'm telling you, you've got the wrong girl!" I tried once again to break away from his grip, but it was a forlorn hope. "Where is Shuichi?" I asked after giving up at last.

"Shuichi is here with me just like you are here with Riku," he replied.

"What? I am Riku! Where is Shuichi?"

"Look at yourself, child," he said, finally releasing his death grip on me.

Looking down at myself, I gasped. Instead of my pajamas that I had been wearing, I wore a sleeveless red Japanese-style dress with a slit up to my thigh. Black pants and a long-sleeved shirt were under the dress. My short brown hair had turned red with black tips, and now fell to my waist.

The kitsune reached down and petted my ears, which twitched.

Wait, twitched? I reached up and felt fox ears atop my head. I looked behind me and saw a black tail with a red tip. I assumed that my new ears matched the tail. "H-how did this happen?" I asked weakly.

Yoko stared at me for a long moment. "You really don't remember anything, do you?"

I shook my head, still utterly confused.

He sighed and opened his mouth to explain, but we were interrupted by the voice that I had heard from behind the bushes.

"Who is this, Yoko? A friend come to rescue you?" A felt a hand touch my shoulder.

Immediately defensive, my body reacted by engulfing the creature in flames for a short period of time. Not enough to kill him, but enough to render him unconscious.

Yoko stared at the demon, a wry smile tugging at his lips. "I'm glad you didn't do that to me," he commented. "I guess you did remember me after all, it's just buried in your subconscious." He hoisted the insect demon over his shoulder. "I guess we can hand this fool over to the detective; this was his job, anyway." The fox demon began to walk away to leave me alone in the fog unless I followed him.

Looking around, I realized the fog had cleared up quite a bit, and I could now see up to five feet in front of me. Although I didn't quite trust Yoko, following him was better than getting lost in this vague forest. Surprisingly, he led me back to Yusuke and Hiei after all.

"Whoa," said a surprised Yusuke as we exited the clearing. "Is that Riku?"

"In a sense," replied Yoko before I could respond. He dropped the insect demon at Yusuke's feet. "Here. We got him for you. Don't worry, he's still alive."

"Not bad. You knew her?" His question was directed at Yoko.

"Yes, but apparently she doesn't remember anything. A pity, really."

Suddenly, Shuichi was standing where Yoko had been.

"Shuichi!" I exclaimed, grateful for the return of my new best friend.

He smiled at me. "Let's get out of this forest so we won't be in too much danger," he said.

We all agreed and began walking the way we had come, back toward civilization. Yusuke carried the insect demon.

As we walked, I realized that I was back to normal. _If we were out of this forest I probably would have been able to sense the change _I told myself.

When we crossed the barrier that separated the normal world from the surreal one, I let out a sigh of relief; it was wonderful to be able to sense and smell things again. I breathed in deeply, allowing all the scents flow into my mind. Kuwabara was glad to see us all still alive.

"You probably have a lot of questions," Shuichi said to me. I nodded. "I do as well. But we will have to wait to get any answers. Let's all go home and take a few minutes to freshen up and give an excuse for our absence, and we'll regroup at my house."

We all concurred and went our separate ways back to our respective neighborhoods. I walked with Yusuke, as was becoming habit. He still carried the insect apparition.

"Thank for walking me home every day," I said gratefully.

"I'm not 'walking you home.' It's just that our houses are in the same direction, so I might as well walk with you. It'll keep you from getting mugged or anything."

"Well, thanks anyway."

When we got to my house, we stopped. Thankfully, all the lights were still out, meaning that my mother was still asleep.

"How are you gonna get in?" Yusuke asked.

"See that open window on the second story?"

"Yeah."

"That's my room." I approached the house and leapt onto the window ledge for the window below my room, then jumped and pulled myself safely inside my bedroom.

"Bye, Yusuke. See ya later," I called softly.

"Show off vixen," he mumbled to himself as he walked away to deliver the insect apparition to Koenma.


	10. Takeshi

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to read this series, and more thanks to everyone who has reviewed, both good and bad reviews. As long as they are constructive, I don't mind people telling what I'm doing wrong!

I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

I climbed into my room and glanced at the clock. "Five," I muttered to myself. I was Saturday, so I wouldn't have to go to school. I could go straight to Shuichi's house. I grabbed a pair of black pants and a black sleeveless shirt, then went to the bathroom and took a hot shower. One that was done, I put my pajamas in my room. It wouldn't be good for me if my mother saw that my pajamas were ripped and covered in leaves and twigs. I then went to my dresser and put on my usual jewelry: c necklace with a charm of the Celtic symbol for protection against evil, a short necklace with a green stone hanging from it, and a third necklace with a silver dragon hanging from it. All three charms hung on black cords. I pulled on my short black boots and jogged downstairs, pausing to fix a piece of toast before leaving for Shuichi's house.

"Why are you up so early on a Saturday?" my mother asked from behind me, startling me. Even though it was a Saturday, she had to get into work early.

"I woke up, so I decided to go on a walk. I'm going to hang out with Shuichi and some others later," I explained.

"Uh-huh." She looked at me dubiously, but didn't say anything.

I kissed her on the cheek and went outside, breathing in the fresh morning air. _I love the outdoors _I thought to myself.

"Whaddya know? Fancy meeting you here," someone called out to me.

I turned around and saw Yusuke walking towards me- without the demon. "Hey," I called back. I waited for him, and we fell into step, walking toward Shuichi's house at a leisurely pace and enjoying each other's company.

When we got to Shuichi's residence, Shiori opened the door. "Good morning," she greeted us. "I'm sorry, but Shuichi isn't awake yet."

"Oh," I said. Yusuke and I looked at each other for a moment. "Well, when he does, could you tell him to call this number?" I asked, scribbling my cell phone number onto a piece of paper that had been in my pocket.

Shiori agreed to do so, and Yusuke and I walked away wondering what to do to pass the time.

"What do you want to do?" I asked.

"I dunno. What do you wanna do?" Yusuke replied.

"I guess we could go to the doughnut shop and eat breakfast," I suggested. Yusuke agreed, and we went to eat at the doughnut shop.

On the way there, a couple of people called out greetings to Yusuke. "Hey, Urameshi, what happened to Yukimura?" one guy called.

"Who said anything happened to her?" Yusuke yelled back.

Obviously, I was slightly uncomfortable during this exchange, but Yusuke waved it off laughingly and we went inside the doughnut shop. There we ran into Kuwabara, who was also trying to find a way to pass the time until it was time for us to meet. We ate our breakfast and talked until my cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Riku?" It was Shuichi.

"Yes. Can we come over now?" I asked.

"Certainly. I'll meet you outside of my house." With that, Shuichi hung up.

"Was that Kurama?" Yusuke asked. I nodded. "Then I guess we'd better start heading that way."

We stood, paid for our food, and walked toward Shuichi's house.

When we were halfway there, I heard a voice call out to us. "So you're Urameshi's new girl," the guy said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I spun to face the man, and then gasped. "Takeshi!" I shouted, throwing my arms around his neck. "I thought you were gone for good!" I was amazed to see my old friend Takeshi Matsumoto standing in front of me.

"I was, but my parents wanted to visit my grandmother one last time before she dies. Since I was in town, I decided to hunt you down. On my way to your house, I overheard some people talking about Urameshi's new girl. Never thought it would turn out to be you," my childhood friend explained.

"I'm not," I said, a slight blush creeping up my cheeks. Yusuke and I are just friends."

"Yeah, it's K-Shuichi that she likes," Yusuke laughed.

"Shuichi Minamino?" Takeshi said, confused.

"No, no, Yusuke's just being stupid. I assure you, Shuichi and I are nowhere near dating!" I said, waving my hands in front of me.

"That's good. But I can't help but wonder why you're hanging around this crowd," Takeshi, said, indicating Yusuke and Kuwabara. "They're not who I would have pictured you hanging with."

_Takeshi would know _I thought. Before we had become friends in middle school, Takeshi had hung out with Yusuke. After eighth grade, he had moved to America, and we had slowly lost touch. Long-distance friendships are hard.

"So, do you guys want to hang out? We could all go to my place and watch a movie or something," Takeshi said, interrupting my flashback.

"Well, um…" I faltered. I really wanted to hang out with Takeshi, but there were important matters to attend to, matters that Takeshi couldn't know about, no matter how much I trusted him.

"Sorry, Matsumoto, we've gotta meet up with someone else now; important business. Maybe some other time."

"That's alright; I understand," Takeshi said. He turned to me. "How about tomorrow?"

"Sure. Is the burger joint okay?"

"It's fine; it'll be nice to visit one of our old hang-outs again."

We shook hands and reluctantly parted ways.

"So, you knew Matsumoto, eh?" Yusuke asked me once we were out of hearing range.

I nodded. "All through seventh and eighth grade. Then he moved away, and we sort of drifted apart…"

"He was a good guy. I used to go to school with him, until he transferred to Meiou."

"I know; he told me about it. He said that you were good friends."

"He was about as close of a friend as I had, I guess."

By this time we were quickly approaching the Minamino residence. Shuichi met the three of us at the front gate. Hiei was leaning against a tree in the front yard. "I guess we can go inside and get started. Don't worry; my mother's out shopping. She'll be gone quite some time," Shuichi explained to us.

We all waked to the door. As we walked, a sudden burst of flame rose up in front of Kuwabara. "Hey, just because we don't get along up doesn't mean that you can attack me at random!" he yelled at Hiei.

Hiei glared up at him. "Just because you don't trust me doesn't mean you should blame every sudden flame on me," he replied coldly.

Kuwabara got angry. "Like we don't all know that it was you!" he shouted.

"The energy wasn't from Hiei; I'm sure of it," Shuichi interjected. "I'm aware of what Hiei's energy feels like (after this long, you should be, too), and that definitely wasn't it."

"Then whose was it?" Kuwabara shouted. "I want to know who is attacking me!"

Kurama just shrugged, and we all went inside.

We got snacks and went to Shuichi's room. Yusuke sat in the desk chair, Kuwabara sat on the bed, and I made myself comfortable on the floor. Shuichi remained standing, apparently planning on heading this meeting. When we were all settled, Shuichi began to speak. "We all have a lot of questions," he said. "And I think that together, we might be able to answer most of them. Unfortunately, there are some that I doubt we can answer tonight, with our limited knowledge. Since you are probably the most confused, Riku, you can begin."

The spotlight was on me. I was slightly nervous, but these were friends, not people to be afraid of. Or were they both? I gave a cautious glance at Yusuke and Hiei before speaking. "What was up with that mist? It transformed Shuichi and me into foxes! And Shuichi turned into a completely different person."

"Well," Shuichi began. "The mist was magical mist that turns everyone who breathes it in into babies again. But it has a strange affect on people like myself, who have lead a past life. In those rare cases, we transform into our former selves. Since you turned into a kitsune as well, I think that it is safe to assume that you used to be a fox demon, and, judging by Yoko's reaction, one he knew well. He seemed to be rather fond of you- in a brotherly way.

"The strange thing is that you don't remember a thing, and you remained the same person even after the physical alteration. That would lead me to assume that you performed the spell wrong, so that you remained the same person and simply lost all of your memories, rather than change entirely," Shuichi explained as simply as he could.

I guess all of the startling information was too much for me, because I began to sway slightly. Before I really knew what was happening to me, everything went black and I fell to the floor.


	11. Mother Knows Best

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to read this series, and more thanks to everyone who has reviewed, both good and bad reviews. As long as they are constructive, I don't mind people telling what I'm doing wrong!

Hope you all enjoy chapter eleven (wow, we're already to eleven!)!

* * *

I awoke on the bed in Shuichi's room. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Shuichi were still there with me. I sat up slowly. "What happened?" I asked groggily, trying to clear the sleep from my mind.

"You fainted," Kuwabara answered.

"I blinked slowly. "Oh, yeah."

Shuichi placed a gentle but firm hand on my shoulder and pushed me back into the pillows. "You just passed out; you need to sleep," he said.

"I'm fine, I promise. I fainted because it was a little too much information to handle at one, but I'm fine now. I was just a bit shocked," I assured them. "So what did I miss?"

"Well, we-" Kuwabara began.

"Not much," Shuichi interrupted, cutting off what Kuwabara had been about to say. "After you fainted, we just watched over you to make sure that you were alright."

My eyes narrowed. There was something that he wasn't telling me; I could sense it. I turned to Kuwabara, the one that I knew wouldn't take Shuichi's hint not to tell me. "So, what were you saying, Kuwabara?"

"Um…actually, I don't really remember. I wasn't paying all that much attention," he admitted sheepishly.

Everyone sweatdropped, and I sighed angry that my one shot at finding out what they had been talking about while I was unconscious hadn't been paying attention!

Shuichi noticed my stressed out appearance, and sighed. "I suppose you would be just as stressed out if we didn't tell as if we did, if not more. So I'll tell you.

"From what Yoko said and what I could gather from his mind, you and Yoko were fairly close. You apparently helped him out during some of his more difficult raids. It seems as though you, too may have been wanted by the Reikai police, but I'll have to ask Koenma about that," he confessed.

I raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

Shuichi nodded.

I blinked a few more times. "That was nothing. So, did you guys come up with any other shocking conclusions while I was busy sleeping? Anything that maybe isn't about my 'past life' or whatever?"

"Well, we talked about Takeshi being back in town, but you already knew that," Yusuke commented.

"And we talked about who could have attacked me," Kuwabara added. "I still think it was the Shrimp."

"I told you it wasn't me, you oaf," Hiei responded, bored. "Believe me, _I_ wouldn't have missed."

Kuwabara stood up to attack Hiei, but Yusuke and Shuichi got him to sit back down before he hurt himself.

"Well, do you guys have any enemies?" I asked.

They all turned and looked at me like I was crazy.

"Only most of the Makai and part of the Ningenkai and Reikai," Yusuke said sarcastically.

"Oh." I glanced casually at the clock on Shuichi's bedside table, then did a double-take. "Is that really what time it is?" I screeched.

Yusuke nodded. "You've been out of it most of the day," he said to me.

"I've gotta get home!" I quickly stood and started towards the door.

Hiei caught my arm. "Are you sure you have enough strength to make it home alright?"

I nodded and pulled my arm gently away. "I'll be fine."

Yusuke stood up before Shuichi could say anything. "I'm on it, Kurama. Wouldn't want Yoko's…friend to get hurt."

I looked at him, wondering why he hesitated (He _is _Yusuke after all), then I realized why: none of us were exactly sure how I knew the strange and scary kitsune. Although I found it rather hard to believe that we were close; he terrified me.

We got home rather late, but not so late that my mom started yelling at me. Early enough to eat dinner. The dinner table was silent for a few minutes, which slightly disturbed me. My mother usually tried to keep up a cheery conversation at the dinner table. Not that I missed the cheery conversation, but it's absence was strange. She finally broke with the comment that I least expected to come out of her mouth:

"I can't believe you've been keeping this from me."

I looked up from my food. "Keeping what from you?"

"You know very well what I mean, Riku," she said sternly.

"Actually, I have no idea what you're talking about."

She sighed. "Your relationship with…_that boy_." She said the words as if they left a foul taste in her mouth.

I tilted my head. "Shuichi?" I asked. I furrowed my brow, confused.

"Riku, I know that you're not really with Shuichi when you say that's where you're going."

By this time, I was completely and totally lost. "Mom, what are you talking about? I am really hanging out with Shuichi and his friends."

My mother sighed. "Riku, I know you don't think I would approve, and I don't, but I would rather have you tell me about it than keep it from me."

"Mom, could you at least tell me who you think I'm hanging out with?"

"I know that you're dating that punk kid, Yusuke," she finally explained.

I froze. "What?" I began to laugh, a hard, that's-the-most-ridiculous-thing-I've-ever-heard laugh that brought tears to my eyes.

"This isn't funny, Riku; I've heard the rumors about that Yusuke kid, don't think I don't know what he's like. He's not anyone I want my daughter to be dating."

"Good, because one: I don't want to date him, and two: he already has a girlfriend. Mom, Yusuke is one of Shuichi's friends. He walks me home every night because our house is on the way to his from Shuichi's. We're not dating, I promise."

"Riku, if you're going to lie, at least make up a believable one. Shuichi is such a sweet boy, and would never get mixed up with characters like Yusuke, unlike _some _of your friends."

I knew she was referring to Takeshi. "First of all, you're wrong: they are friends, and second of all, Takeshi is a good person! In fact, he just came back to town to visit his grandma, and I'm going to hang out with him tomorrow."

My mother sighed again and _tut-tutted. _"Whatever you say, Riku," she said, but I could tell that she didn't believe me and she thought I was becoming an 'uncontrollable teenager.'

"I stood up. "Good-night, Mom," I said, not wanting to have to bear any more of this. I angrily stomped up the stairs and went into my room, flopping onto my bed and staring at the blank ceiling. _You would think that she would trust me after fifteen years of my being a good kid_ I thought, filled with rage. After a few hours of ceiling-watching, I fell into a fitful sleep.


	12. Dangerous

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to read this series, and more thanks to everyone who has reviewed, both good and bad reviews. As long as they are constructive, I don't mind people telling what I'm doing wrong!

Sorry that it is so short, and I hope everyone likes it!

* * *

I awoke around ten o'clock. Yawning, I stretched out and pulled the blankets closer around me. Then I remembered Takeshi. My eyes flew open. "We're supposed to meet for lunch!" I cried. I quickly got dressed and ran out the door to the burger joint that Takeshi and I had frequented when he had still been living in Japan.

Takeshi was already there by the time that I arrived. "Sorry I'm late," I said. "The first time we get to hang out and I can't even make it on time!"

"That's okay. I'm normally the late one; it's your turn for a change."

We ordered our food and began to catch up with each other's lives. Takeshi liked America, and was doing just fine there, although he did miss me. He had new friends now, and was doing fairly well in school.

I told him about my life. My grades were as good as usual, and life hadn't really changed- well, except for the whole demon-thing, but I wasn't about to tell him about that. As close as Takeshi and I were, I knew that I couldn't tell him that I wasn't human. I told him that I was now hanging out with Shuichi as well as Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"Wow, you're becoming a regular social-butterfly, eh? When I was still living here, all of your friends were people like me, and-"

"You were my only friend, Takeshi," I interrupted.

"Let me finish, will ya? You go from me to Shuichi Minamino! Talk about a drastic change in social status!"

"Yeah, well, stuff happens. Shuichi's a nice guy. Besides, our mothers have always been really good friends." I was beginning to get slightly embarrassed. Takeshi was right- I had never been popular, or anything like it.

"Aw, you know I'm just joking, Riku. Shuichi always did seem like a really nice guy. Even though he was popular, he didn't get a big head over it.

Our conversation went on like that for a few hours, simply catching up on lost time. After we ate, we left the café and just walked down the street, commenting on the people we passed.

After we had worn out every aspect of small talk know to man, he turned to me with a serious expression on his face. "So, what's up with you hanging around Urameshi and Kuwabara?" he asked me.

I hesitated- he wouldn't believe that truth. "I don't know…we just kinda started hanging out. You know how it is. I don't choose my friends, my friends choose me. That's the way it's always been, Takeshi. You know that."

"Yeah, but your friends have never been guys like Urameshi," he commented dryly.

"Oh? Then what were you- chopped liver?"

Takeshi sighed and turned to me. "Ri, you know that I used to run with Urameshi. I know him better than you do."

_Do you really?_ I thought. _Do you know what he really is- a spirit detective?_

"He's dangerous, Ri. Most of the rumors about him are true. I won't say all of them are, because even he has his limits, and some of what people say crosses those limits. But that doesn't mean he's a good person. I won't be counting on him to save the world anytime soon."

I had a very hard time keeping a straight face after that comment.

"Look, it took me a few years to straighten up my life after leaving Sarayashiki- you know that just as well as I do. I don't want to see you go through the same things that I did. I'm just worried about you Ri."

"I know, Takeshi, and I really appreciate that. But I promise, Yusuke presents no danger to me. He even walks me home so that I don't get mugged."

"How did you meet up with him, anyway?" he asked.

"He's a friend of Shuichi's," I replied. I guessed what his reaction to that would be, and I was right.

"What? That's a load of bull, and you know it! Mr. Perfect-pretty-boy and Urameshi, friends? Did you really think I would believe that?" He looked close to laughter, but the conversation was no laughing mater to him.

"Do you think I would be stupid enough to make something like that up? I'm serious, Takeshi. Shuichi and Yusuke are friends." Just then my cell phone rang, interrupting our conversation. Ironically enough, the caller was Shuichi.

"Riku?"

"That's me," I replied.

"Could you get over to the place in the forest near the park where we have been practicing? We need you- now."

"Really? It's that important? Because I'm kind of busy right now…"

"Please Riku? We really need you," Shuichi pleaded.

"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can get over there." I hung up the phone and looked at Takeshi regretfully. "I'm sorry, Takeshi, but I have to go; it's an emergency. Can we get together again later?"

Takeshi nodded, but he didn't look too happy.

I gave him a quick hug and ran down the street towards the park.

* * *

It didn't take me long to reach the area that Shuichi has specified. I reached the spot and paused for breath. Looking up, I gasped at what I saw.

* * *

Once again, I'm sorry that it's so short, but I have absolutely no idea what she saw. I'll think on it, and I'm also willing to accept suggestions, if they don't get in the way of the plot that I'm setting up! So if you have any thoughts about what would be really great for Riku to see, I'll be glad to hear them! I'll also give credit to whoever gave me the idea, IF I end up using it. I might just think of something on my own. 


	13. Yusuke's 'Jenious' Plan

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to read this series, and more thanks to everyone who has reviewed, both good and bad reviews. As long as they are constructive, I don't mind people telling what I'm doing wrong!

**Inari's angel **– I will put Kurone in here as soon as I can find a good place for him.

**melody89**- Of course I will pull Yoko back in. If I didn't there would really be no point in their last meeting.

Sorry that it is so short, and I hope everyone likes it!

* * *

I gasped at what I saw. Shuichi was kneeling over a limp figure on the ground in the center of the clearing. The figure was Hiei. I started to run over to them, but a pair of strong arms stopped me. I turned to my captor and breathed a sigh of relief when I realized that it was Yusuke.

"You don't need to go over there," he said. "Kurama's trying to figure out what's wrong with him."

I nodded. Then I remembered what my mother had said about Yusuke yesterday, and what Takeshi had said just a few minutes ago. Looking away to hide my blushing face, I pulled away from Yusuke. "Will Hiei be okay?" I asked, trying to keep my mind off of it's earlier subject. _Yusuke isn't dangerous _I said to myself. _And we certainly aren't going out. My mother is the only person who would come up with something that ridiculous!_

"I dunno. Knowing Hiei, he'll probably be fine, but it looked pretty bad."

"Well, if I can't help you guys, why did Kurama tell me to get over here so fast?" He had said that it was important, but there didn't seem to be anything that I could do.

"Oh, yeah. Have you ever heard of an old lady named Genkai who lives up in the mountains?"

I thought about this, then shook my head. "Not that I can remember. Why?"

"Well, she trains humans to use their spirit energy. That's where Kuwabara and Yukina are right now. Unfortunately, the old hag's too much of a hermit to get a telephone, and Kuwabara doesn't have a cell. I need you to go get Kuwabara and tell him that Hiei's hurt."

"Who's Yukina?" I tilted my head in curiosity. _I thought Hiei and Kuwabara hated each other?_

Yusuke thought for a moment, as of he was looking for the right words. "He's Kuwabara's girlfriend," he said at last. He paused, then continued. "You seem like a girl who can keep her mouth shut." I nodded. "She's also Hiei's twin sister- but she doesn't know that, and neither does Kuwabara. We didn't tell Kuwabara because if he knew, he would tell Yukina."

"Does Hiei know?"

"Yeah," Yusuke admitted.

"Then why doesn't Yukina?"

"Well…I don't know all of the details, but they were separated at birth, and Hiei just doesn't want to tell her. He probably has a reason. Then again, this is Hiei…" He trailed off into thought.

"Right. So you want me to go get Yukina, but you want her to think I just went to get Kuwabara?" I said, perceiving his plan.

Yusuke grinned. "Right."

"Question: why don't you go, instead of calling me up here?"

"Well, you see, if whatever attacked the squirt comes back, we want to be able to protect ourselves. Kurama said that it was likely that it would comeback. If it can beat Hiei up, it's pretty strong, so there should probably be two strong guys on guard," he rationalized.

"Okay, I can do that. Just point me in the right direction."

"The mountain's that way. The old hag's place is at the top."

I began to turn away, then stopped. "Shuichi didn't think up that plan, did he?" I asked. There was a flaw in the plan that Shuichi would have caught.

"No," he replied.

"He doesn't even know about it, does he?"

"How did you know?" He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Just a guess. It didn't sound like something Shuichi would think up."

"Well, Hiei made a smart comment about how I never plan, and I only win anything by luck. I wanted to prove him wrong," Yusuke explained to me. "Why wouldn't Shuichi think of it?"

I smirked. "It's nothing. See ya later." I walked off, wondering what Shuichi had wanted. _I guess I'll find out when I get back._

After a few hours of climbing up the mountain Yusuke had pointed out to me, I still hadn't found my way to the top, and Yusuke's flaw hung in the back of my mind, frightening me slightly. Yusuke had said there should be two people in the clearing in case of a second attack in the clearing. He hadn't said anything about the attacker attacking anyone outside of the clearing, which was just as likely. If it could knock Hiei unconscious, what could it do to me? Paranoia started to get to me as every little noise was deafening. A bird chirping startled me; a slight breeze on my skin made me jump.

As I was thinking these rather disturbing thoughts, I felt an arm grab me and a hand clamp over my mouth to keep me from screaming out into the forest. "What are you doing?" A voice asked harshly.


	14. Illness

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to read this series, and more thanks to everyone who has reviewed, both good and bad reviews. As long as they are constructive, I don't mind people telling what I'm doing wrong!

I'm sorry if this one's poorly written, I'm kind of tired right now…

* * *

Previously:

As I was thinking these rather disturbing thoughts, I felt an arm grab me and a hand clamp over my mouth to keep me from screaming out into the forest. "What are you doing?" A voice asked harshly.

* * *

I froze in fear. My body automatically began to heat up in defense against this strange attacker. He didn't feel like a demon, but that didn't mean that he did not pose a threat to me.

"Yow!" My attacker yelped, quickly letting go of me. "For crying out loud, what was that, Ri!"

Ri? I spun around to see Takeshi staring at his slightly burnt arms. "Takeshi! What are you doing here?" I exclaimed.

"I should ask you the same thing, especially after the burn you just gave me. What just happened?" He shouted.

I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came to mind. I certainly couldn't tell Takeshi the truth, but I couldn't think of a suitable lie, either. What explanation is there for burning the person that just touched you? "Maybe you just imagined it?" I suggested for lack of a better excuse.

Takeshi stared at me like I had grown an extra head. "Imagined it? I can still feel the heat! Ri, you are hiding something from me. You only make really stupid excuses like that when you're hiding stuff. Look at my hands, Ri. This isn't just something that I thought I felt."

I looked at his outstretched arms. Sure enough, they were red and chapped. The cloth from his long-sleeved shirt had burned away, leaving his arms bare. "I can't think of a reason why that would happen when you touched me," I lied.

Takeshi thought about it for a while. "I know!"

I looked up at him, startled. _Oh, no, if he figured it out…_

"Riku, how can you be out climbing a mountain when you have a fever that bad!"

I fell down, anime-style.

This only proved to make him even more convinced that I was ill. "Riku, are you crazy! I'll carry you up to the old lady's house. Surely she'll have some sort of medicine that will help you get better." He picked me up (careful to make sure that I didn't burn him again), and started walking the rest of the way up the mountain.

It was then I remembered why I was climbing that mountain. "Takeshi, why are you here? How long have you been following me?" I asked, worried.

"Well, you said it was an emergency, so I followed you just in case you needed my help. You weren't kidding about Urameshi and Minamino being friends," he commented.

"Yeah, I told you! But that's beside the point. I'm fine! I just need to go get Kuwabara and Yukina!"

"Why did Urameshi send for Kuwabara, anyway? Those two hate each other. And who was that other guy, the one that was hurt…?"

By this time, I was getting frustrated with Takeshi. "It doesn't matter! Just put me down and go home. I can do this on my own."

"Ri, you're really sick. I'm not putting you down until we get to that lady's house."

"Please Takeshi. I hate being carried. You know that."

Takeshi looked at me for a moment, then set my feet on the ground, but kept his arm firmly around my waist to steady me and help me walk.

* * *

We reached Genkai's dojo an hour or so later. Kuwabara and a girl that I guessed was Yukina were sitting on the front porch. I sensed a demonic aura emanating from the latter. The two looked up at us when they heard us approaching. Kuwabara squinted at Takeshi, trying to place him.

"Hey, Kuwabara. Don't you remember me?" Takeshi said, smirking.

Kuwabara's eyes widened in recognition. "You! I thought you moved to America! What are you doing with Riku? Does Urameshi know that you kidnapped her? Does Kurama know? Let go of her right now!"

Takeshi's smirk grew. "I see that you do remember me, but who's Kurama?"

"Um…well, you see…" I said, throwing around for an idea. "…it's Shuichi's middle name. He really doesn't like it, though. That's why no one ever calls him that. Kuwabara only does it to annoy him," I lied.

"I see." Takeshi looked up at Kuwabara and went on to the next topic of discussion. "Why would Urameshi care if I have her? We're friends, remember? It's you that I have to wonder about. Why would he send her to get you?"

His taunts reminded me of my mission. "Kuwabara," I said before he could get into a fight with Takeshi. "Yusuke sent me to get you because Hiei's injured. He wanted you over there as soon as possible."

Kuwabara tilted his head. "The shrimp's hurt? How did that happen?"

"We don't know. That's why they wanted me to get you."

Kuwabara stood up, Yukina right behind him. "I'll come, too. I can help heal him," she said.

Takeshi looked at her strangely, but said nothing. He had let go of me by this time, and had apparently forgotten about my 'fever.'

* * *

When we got back to the clearing in the park Shuichi immediately walked up to me. "Are you alright?" he inquired.

"Yes, I'm fine," I assured him.

"I can't believe Yusuke would do something so foolhardy- although it is Yusuke…"

"It's alright; I'm fine, see? Takeshi took good care of me."

Shuichi turned his attention to the problem at hand: healing Hiei and figuring out what happened to him with a normal human around.

Yusuke quickly fixed that problem- intentionally or accidentally, I cannot say. "Hey, Takeshi. You've been catching up with Riku all day, so I haven't had a chance to talk to you," he said, pulling Takeshi away from the rest of the group, to the edge of the clearing.

I turned to find Yukina, but she was already at Hiei's side, kneeling over him to see how bad his wounds were. Kuwabara was trying to decide which was stronger- his fear of Hiei or his love for Yukina- and he kept moving closer to and further from the pair.

"You're sure that you are unharmed?" Shuichi asked me again.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm just a bit shocked that I didn't realize that Takeshi was following me. I should have figured it out before I got to you guys."

"Yes, you should have, but it's too late now. We'll just have to trust that he'll go away on his own."

Eventually Yusuke convinced Takeshi that there was nothing Takeshi could do to help Hiei or any of the rest of us, and he left us all alone at long last.

As soon as he left, Yukina wet to work healing Hiei's wounds with her demonic powers.

"She's an ice apparition," Shuichi explained to me. He also expained what an ice apparition was, exactly. We all gathered around Hiei's limp for except for Kuwabara, who stayed as far away from Hiei as he could.

After half an hour, she looked up at all of us. "I've done as much as I can, but I can't make him regain consciousness. That's not really a physical wound."

"That's why I asked Riku to come here," Shuichi said.

We all turned to look at him, confused.

He smiled and gave a dramatic pause to drag out the suspense. "When Yoko was out, he was thinking about a certain power that Asuka had had." He stopped again.

"Well, what was this 'power?'" I asked.

"It was telepathic ability," he said.

"Well, I can see how that could help Hiei, but that doesn't explain why you wanted me over here. I'm not Asuka."

Shuichi looked me square in the eye. "You may not look like her, and you may not have retained her memories, but you are Asuka. And while I doubt that you have all of her abilities, this is one that I think you may have. So, if you would, please try to use them. For Hiei's sake."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"That you will have to figure out on your own; I am afraid I have no telepathic powers," he conceded.

A glared at Shuichi, then sighed softly and knelt on the ground next to the fire apparition. I closed my eyes and concentrated on Hiei.

"It works better when you have physical contact as well," Shuichi said softly, placing my hand on Hiei's shoulder.

Suddenly I reached Hiei's mind. He was sitting in a dark corner of it, staring at the nothingness. When I entered he looked up at me. "What do you want, vixen?"

"I just want to help you wake up," I said humbly.

"Hn. And what if I have no desire to wake up?"

"Why would that be?" I asked.

He stared at me before answering. "You understand. I have no interest in living now, because I have no purpose."

"I do understand. But I continue to live. I don't try to kill myself. Suicide is only for the weak."

"I didn't try to kill myself, and you know it. I just figure that if I'm going to be attacked and I don't want to live anyway, why not just let the attack do me in? My purpose has been fulfilled." He turned his face away from me to stare into the darkness of his mind once more.

"And what would that purpose be?"

He looked at me again, annoyed. "My sister gave me her tear gem. She is looking for me, and she doesn't need to find me. I've been protecting her all this time, but now the moron can do it."

"You're leaving your sister's fate in Kuwabara's hands? You must really not care about her," I commented.

"He glared at me and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Try saying that again," he dared me. I said nothing, and he settled back into his old position. "I'm telling you, she doesn't need me."

I hadn't known Hiei for very long at that time, but I could guess that this was one of the longest speeches that he had ever given. Even so, how could I find a reason for a jaded fire demon to live?


	15. A Reason to Live

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to read this series, and more thanks to everyone who has reviewed, both good and bad reviews. As long as they are constructive, I don't mind people telling what I'm doing wrong! Hope you all like it!

* * *

Previously: 

I hadn't known Hiei for very long at that time, but I could guess that this was one of the longest speeches that he had ever given. Even so, how could I find a reason for a jaded fire demon to live?

* * *

"_What about Shuichi and Yusuke? Don't you think that it would be selfish to let yourself die when you know that they might never recover from losing you like this? They don't even know what happened to you." _

Hiei cocked an eyebrow. _"Then tell them: I was attacked by a member of the SDF."_

I had no idea what the SDF was, but I figured I could ask Shuichi about it later. _"That's still selfish of you; you could recover, but you refuse to wake up. If you die now, it will be no one's fault but your own."_

"_I've never claimed to be selfless."_

My anger flared. _"So after all that everyone has been through to help you recover, you just decide to give up and let yourself die! After Yukina went to the trouble of using so much energy to heal your wounds? After Yusuke actually used his brain for once to show you that he could? After Kuwabara even came to help? You're just going to give up?"_

"_You got it. Just because they were willing to help me doesn't give me a reason to live."_ He turned his attention back to the darkness, waiting for me to leave his mind so that he could end his life.

I thought for a while, trying to think of something that Hiei would consider a reason to live. After some time, I finally thought of something. _It's a long shot, but I have to try. "What about me?"_

He looked up at me again. _"What?"_

"_What about me? What if that fox demon comes back and tries to kill me? You're the only one who would be able to find out and save me in time."_

"_And what makes you think that I would care about you, vixen?" _he asked.

I sighed, defeated. _"I don't know. I just wanted to give you a reason, and I couldn't think of another- but that doesn't mean that there isn't one. I hardly know you at all, so I couldn't possibly give you a reason to survive. We all have to find that for ourselves."_

"_And why do you care about me?"_

"_Because even though I don't know you very well, I know you well enough to know that you are too strong to die like this. Giving up like you are is no better than suicide. You are too good for that."_

"_How do you know?"_

"_Because I can sense it in you, and I can see it in your eyes! You are strong, and, even though you may not want to believe it, or even to be it, you are a good person. And because there are people in this world- and probably the others too- that care about you."_

He looked up at me as if he was seeing me for the first time. _"They'll get over it," _he said. But I could tell that he was thinking about my words.

"_Hiei, I thought you were strong. But I guess looks can be deceiving." _I gave him one last long look before turning and leaving his mind.

_**You must realize that I am extremely tempted to leave you here, but I won't because I am a kind person (sometimes) and I don't feel that I have written enough just yet.**_

I opened my eyes and found myself in the same position I had been in when I entered Hiei's mind: kneeling on the ground beside him, my hand on his shoulder. My eyes saddened as I thought about the fact that I had lost; Hiei was gone forever, and I couldn't save him.

Surprisingly, though, his eyes fluttered open as I stared at his stony face. Sitting up, he looked at me and smirked. "I'm no quitter."

I smiled, then realized that I was suddenly exhausted. My eyelids pulled themselves over my eyes and I fell forward onto Hiei's shoulder. I was awake enough to be aware of my surroundings, but I was too tired to move. _I don't get it. Why am I suddenly so sleepy?_

"Get off of me, Vixen," Hiei said, annoyed. As much as I tried, I could not force myself to get up. "Fox, get her off of me. She's too tired to do it herself."

"Yes. Apparently the drain of using her telepathic abilities for the first time took it's toll on her," Shuichi commented. I could hear the obvious amusement in his voice. "I don't think that it would be polite to move a woman while she's asleep."

Hiei stood and gently shoved me in Shuichi's direction. Too spent to resist, I fell onto Shuichi, who caught me and swung me up into his arms. I sighed and leaned against his shoulder, fatigue pulling me into the empty oblivion of sleep.

"I'll let her sleep while we're walking. We can wake her when we get out of the park."

* * *

They woke me up when they were ready to go their separate ways. Yusuke had already agreed to walk me home again, since it was on his way, anyways. 

My thoughts drifted to my mother's crazy suspicions. "No, that's alright. I'll walk myself," I assured them all.

"It's okay, Riku, I can do it. It's too dangerous for you to walk alone. Besides, we're going the same direction. How would we walk alone: one of us count to a hundred while the other one's walking away?" Yusuke asked.

I blushed slightly; he was right. We all said our good-byes and went off to our respective houses for the evening. When we got near my house, though, I was hesitant.

"What is your problem?" Yusuke asked me, stopping on the sidewalk. "You act as if you just don't want me anywhere near your house. Are you afraid I'm going to ruin you wonderful reputation or something?"

"No, that's not it at all!" I exclaimed, repulsed by the thought. "It's just that…well, my mother has seen you walking me home and stuff…and she got this crazy idea…and so I'm trying to convince her that she's wrong…" I said lamely, not wanting to humiliate myself by telling Yusuke. He was sure to laugh if he knew.

"What's this 'crazy idea?'"

"Um…well, you see…"

"Yeah?" he pressed.

"She thinks we're going out," I said quickly. I looked down, embarrassed. There was a silence. I looked up at Yusuke, who was blinking. "Yusuke?"

Suddenly, the tough punk burst out laughing. "Seriously? She thinks that!" Yusuke doubled over, tears filling his eyes. "Did…did you tell her…that- that I already have a girlfriend?" he asked, peals of laughter obstructing his speech.

"Yes, but she refused to believe me!" He continued to laugh, and I just stood there, embarrassed.

After around ten minutes, Yusuke finally got a hold of himself and we started walking again. "So, you didn't want me to walk you home because you don't want your mom to see us together?"

I blushed. "Yeah, basically. But now that I think about it, she should still be at work," I said thoughtfully.

We finally reached my house. "Thanks again for walking me home," I said. "And I apologize about my mother's crazy notions."

"No problem. It gave me a laugh."

Suddenly, I saw something move in the window of my house. A curtain had fallen, which meant that someone had been watching us.

Apparently Yusuke saw it, too. He gave me an evil smirk, then pulled me to him and kissed me. When he finally pulled back he was still smirking, his eyes glittering with mirth.

"Yusuke!" I sputtered. "What was that for!"

"I just thought I'd give your mom a little show," he said before walking away. I could hear him chuckling until I was inside my house with the door shut.

* * *

Okay, I know that was really terrible, but it was so something that Yusuke would do, no? As I said before, this won't be a romance, but I thought I would just throw this in here for fun, because parents are like that. They suspect that every member of the opposite gender you hang out with is going out with you. Society in general is like that, and it makes me mad! Okay, I'm off of my soapbox now. 

Second note: I wouldnever kill Hiei. He's my favorite character. I don't have a creepy obsession with him or anything, but he is my favorite character. I don't know why Kurama is the main character in this story...He's not one of my favorites...oh, well. Hope you all liked it. Sayonara for now!


	16. Family

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to read this series, and more thanks to everyone who has reviewed, both good and bad reviews. As long as they are constructive, I don't mind people telling what I'm doing wrong! Hope you all like it!

* * *

Previously:

"Yusuke!" I sputtered. "What was that for!"

"I just thought I'd give your mom a little show," he said before walking away. I could hear him chuckling until I was inside my house with the door shut.

* * *

Chapter 16- Family

I stepped inside and braced myself for what I knew was coming next: my mother's reaction to Yusuke's 'show.' I knew that she probably would not be very happy.

I was correct. She caught me as soon as I entered the house. "What was that? You're not going out with Yusuke, eh? If he treats his friends like that, I don't want to see how he treats his girlfriend."

There were a few things I could say to that, but none of them would help my current situation. "Mom, Yusuke was just kidding. I told him you thought that and he decided he was going to surprise you. I wasn't expecting it either, believe me." In truth, I was actually pretty ticked about it. My first kiss and the guy didn't even like me! Oh, well, I guess it could have been worse.

"Just kidding? What's that supposed to mean!" My mother shouted.

"It means next time he sees me he's going to ask what you did when I walked into the house. And I'm going to kill him," I replied in a monotone voice. "He wants to see how long he can run before I finally catch him."

"Riku Yamashita, I do not want to see you anywhere near that boy ever again," she said sternly.

I paused. "I'm sorry Mother, but I can't do that. Yusuke's my friend, and, believe it or not, he's really a good guy."

"Riku, why do you always make bad decisions when it comes to your friends? Why can't you be friends with good kids like Shuichi and Kaito?" I knew that she was referring not only to Yusuke, but to Takeshi as well. And if she knew Hiei, he would be included in her thoughts.

"My friends _are _good people, Mom. Just because you judge them as soon as you meet them doesn't mean that they're bad people." Sick of her reprimands, I went upstairs to my room and locked the door.

* * *

The next morning, I made sure that my mom had already gone to work before I left the solitude of my room. I didn't want to face her so early in the morning. Even so, I still got to school before too many people had arrived. When I got to class I sat by Shuichi, who put down his book, turned to me, and smiled courteously.

"Good morning. Can you come to lessons again today?" he asked politely.

I nodded, just as distant. "I would appreciate that very much," I replied. "Thank you for spending your time helping me."

"It's not a problem at all." He turned back around and went back to his book.

During class, the girl behind me, who had apparently eavesdropped on our conversation, passed me a note. 'How'd you manage to get lessons from Shuichi? I've tried plenty of times, but he always turns me down!''

I thought a moment about how I should answer her query. _Should I tell her that we're both demons, and that he's really teaching me how to use my demonic powers, not how to factor polynomials? Somehow, I don't think that that would go over too well. _I finally wrote the closest thing to the truth that I could think of. 'Our mother's have been friends since before we were born, so we've know each other for a long time.' It was the truth, but it wasn't the answer to her question.

School was a very difficult ordeal. Now that I had unlocked my telepathic abilities, I accidentally picked up a number of random thoughts, ranging from 'This class is so boring,' to 'What does she see in him?' Half of the time, I had absolutely no idea what they were thinking about. Then good part was, I didn't have a very wide range yet, so I could only hear thoughts that were in the same classroom as I was. The hallway, on the other hand, was a whole other story. I could hear the passing thoughts of everyone within ten yards of myself, and I could read anything off of the people that I happened to touch. _I really need to figure out how to work this,_ I thought as I ran into a random guy. He looked at me strangely and walked off. _Whoops. I guess people can hear my thoughts if they are in contact with me.

* * *

_

After school Shuichi and I met at the front doors of the school and walked to his house. His mother greeted us and offered us drinks, which we gladly accepted. We then went upstairs to his room. We left the door open, but we were careful to position our chairs so that no one walking down the hallway would see any random bursts of flame.

"Let's do our homework first," Shuichi suggested.

I agreed. Who knew how long the lesson would take, and we needed to have our homework finished tonight.

As we worked, a nagging thought kept pulling at the back of my mind, making it difficult for me to concentrate. I finally put my pencil down and turned to Shuichi.

"Yes?" he said.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked bluntly.

"I'm not. You're doing fairly well on your own. You've only asked me two questions," he replied.

I wasn't sure if he was being serious or avoiding my question. "Not this," I said, waving my hand towards the math assignment. "With the whole apparition thing. Why are you training me? Why do you suddenly want to hang out with me?" It was a question that had been bothering me for sometime, but I had never bothered to ask. The girl's note this morning had strengthened my curiosity on the subject, though, so that I had to ask. "You were always careful to be distant when we were children, so why the sudden urge to be my friend? I just don't understand."

Shuichi looked at me for a long time before answering. "When we were young, I was unsure if you were a threat to me. When we got older, I realized that you were no danger, but our social classes kept us apart, and you didn't strike me as the type of person that would enjoy being pulled into the popular sect," he said seriously.

"Then why now? You're still popular, and I'm still not."

"I'm not sure. The day that you fainted at school, something told me to go get you. Maybe it was because I knew that you were weak, and I didn't want you to harm yourself or anyone else, or reveal yourself. After that, I cannot say what made me want to continue our relationship, save that you are a good person."

"Phh," I scoffed. "Anyways, your touching and encouraging speech doesn't tell me why you introduced me to your friends, or why you are training me."

Shuichi shrugged. "I just figured that you would want to learn what you are, and I thought that if we were going to be friends, you might as well meet my other companions." He glanced at the clock. "We have only a few problems left; let's finish this later."

I raised an eyebrow. "Shuichi Minamino, not wanting to do his homework?"

"I can complete this later, but you have to be home at a reasonable hour," he responded.

"Okay."

Shuichi glanced out into the hallway to make sure that no one was looking. "Okay. Make a sphere of flame in your palm," he ordered.

"How large?"

"As large as you feel it should be."

I concentrated, but nothing happened. Confused, I took a deep breath and tried again, but the result was the same.

"It's still bothering you, isn't it?" he asked.

I nodded. "I'm sorry if you're offended, but I just don't get why you're willing to be my friend."

Shuichi just stared at me, but I picked up on his thoughts. _'Because, as I said before, you are a truly good person.' _After a few moment's silence he spoke. "Close you eyes and try again."

I did so. Keeping my eyes closed, I tried again and again, taking deep, relaxing breaths between each attempt.

After a few moments, I was pulled into an embrace like an older brother would give to his little sister. "He is your friend because his subconscious remembered you, and remembered that you are a very sweet girl, even if you do have a short temper," said a smooth voice.

I stiffened. This was not Shuichi.


	17. Yusuke

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to read this series, and more thanks to everyone who has reviewed, both good and bad reviews. As long as they are constructive, I don't mind people telling what I'm doing wrong! Hope you all like it!

Sorry that it is so short. I meant to put more on this one, but I haven't updated in awhile, so I figured I needed to do that now.

* * *

Previously:

"Close you eyes and try again."

I did so. Keeping my eyes closed, I tried again and again, taking deep, relaxing breaths between each attempt.

After a few moments, I was pulled into an embrace like an older brother would give to his little sister. "He is your friend because his subconscious remembered you, and remembered that you are a very sweet girl, even if you do have a short temper," said a smooth voice.

I stiffened. This was not Shuichi.

* * *

Chapter 17- Yusuke

As soon as I realized this, I noticed that there was a different aura in the room. I should have noticed it before, but I had been concentrating so intently that I hadn't detected it. It was a menacing aura, one that I shied away from- or I would have, had the owner of the aura not been holding me. The aura was unfamiliar, but I figured that it must be the kitsune Yoko. I wasn't able to sense his aura in the forest, which would explain the fact that I couldn't recognize it.

"Let…go…" I said, trying to wrench myself out of his grasp.

"Why? So you can run away before I'm finished speaking?" The smooth voice said. "I do not think so."

"Then say what you want- _quickly."_

"Asuka, I know that you fear me, but understand that I mean you no harm. If I did, you would already be a corpse."

"That's comforting," I said sarcastically.

Suddenly the threatening aura dissipated into Shuichi's calm presence. Shuichi quickly let go of me and turned to the desk. "Look at the diagram on this page. It should help with this problem…"

Needless to say, I was confused. That is, until my mother entered the room. "Riku? Hello, I was just in the area, so I came to say 'hi' to Shiori. I thought I'd check up on you, since I was already here and all."

That would be the reason Yoko disappeared. My mother's excuse did not, however, justify her presence. She was in the Minamino house for one reason and one reason only: to see if was really hanging out with Shuichi instead of Yusuke, as I told her. _I love the fact that you trust me so much, Mother._ I thought sardonically.

"I apologize for Yoko's behavior," Shuichi said, pulling me out of me reverie.

"That's not your problem, Shuichi. You can't control him- can you?" Shuichi denied controlling the kitsune, so I continued. "But I thought that you said he could only come out with that smoke stuff or a potion made form it."

"I've been meaning to tell you this, Riku, but it seems as though the tables have shifted. Yoko can come out whenever he deems necessary."

"But…how?" I asked, confused.

"I have transformed into Yoko so many times that he now has the ability to come out as he chooses. I do have a bit of control, but in a fight between the two of us, I think that the victor is quite obvious," Shuichi said wryly.

"Okay, I think I get it now. I'm going to try the flame again. Maybe I've loosened up a bit." Just then, I heard a voice in my head.

'_I'm bored; I think I'll go over to Kurama's house.' _It was Yusuke.

I was a bit confused as to why I was randomly hearing Yusuke, but there were more important things to discuss_ 'Yusuke, please don't come over here! My mother's here, and she'll probably kill you if she sees you.'_ Maybe I heard him because a) I knew him better than I knew a lot of people, and b) I didn't have all that much control over this particular ability just yet.

I 'heard' his mental smirk. _'I think I'll survive. Besides, I'm not going to your place, I'm visiting Kurama.'_

'_That's where I am.'_

'_What's your mom doing at Kurama's house?'_

'_Our mothers are friends.'_

'_Okay, you don't want me coming through the door. Which window is Kurama's?'_

I turned to Shuichi. "Which window is this from the outside?"

He looked at me strangely. "Why?"

"Yusuke wants to know because it probably wouldn't be smart for him to cone in the front door right now."

"Why wouldn't it be wise?" Shuichi asked.

"My mother doesn't like him very much," I explained.

"Oh, okay." He told my which window it was, and I turned my mind inward to give the coordinates to Yusuke.

As I was doing this, Shuichi tilted his head to the side for a moment, then bit back a smile.

"What's so funny?" I demanded.

"It's nothing."

Suddenly I hear a voice behind me. "Hey guys, what's up?" It was Yusuke.

* * *

I know, not a very interesting place to end it...but I wanted to update ASAP, and I don't have any more time to write today, so here it is.


	18. Spirit Flu

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to read this series, and more thanks to everyone who has reviewed, both good and bad reviews. As long as they are constructive, I don't mind people telling what I'm doing wrong! Hope you all like it!

I haven't updated in awhile, so I figured I needed to do that now. I was in a bit of a writing slump, and my wrists started hurting really badly. My band director blamed the computer, so I decided to ditch the computer for a few days.

Also, I apologize for the last few chapters. Definitely not my best works. In fact, I would go as far as to say they stunk. A lot. I was in a writing slump, you see, but I wanted to keep putting out chapters, so I wrote really random stuff that I don't even know how popped into my head. I apologize for the crappy writing. I'll never write while in a slump again when I can't re-write. So this chapter will be a mix of my trying to fix the story and to put it back on track! It should be back to normal soon. I hope it's improve

-ZanzaGirl

* * *

Previously:

Suddenly I hear a voice behind me. "Hey guys, what's up?" It was Yusuke.

* * *

Chapter 18- Spirit Flu

"Yusuke! What- how did you get in here?" Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shuichi smiling amusedly. I turned to him. "You heard him coming, didn't you?" I asked, remembering how he had been smiling earlier.

Shuichi nodded. "Why are you so mad at him?"

Simple question. Strange answer. "Well, you see…it's not that I'm mad at him so much as my mother doesn't like him all that much, especially after that trick he pulled yesterday," I explained.

"What did he do yesterday?"

"Well…Yusuke, why don't you take this one? I have no idea what was going through your head at that moment except that you wanted me to into trouble."

"Yeah, well, that was about it," the teenager admitted. "I noticed her mom was watching, and she had just told me that her mom doesn't like me, so I kissed her just to see what her mom would do."

To my surprise, Shuichi bit his lip, holding back a smile. Listening into his mind, I heard a soft laughter. After a moment, he composed himself. "Don't you think it would have been wise to ask her permission first? It's very ruse to kiss a girl without asking, especially when you already have a girlfriend."

"Yeah, but she would have said no." Wonderful logic. "Besides, it wasn't a real kiss. So Keiko doesn't need to know. I won't tell her if you won't."

"I don't know, Yusuke. I'm sure Keiko would like to know this…" Shuichi said thoughtfully.

"Please Kurama. Keiko would KILL me!"

"You know I would never do that, Yusuke."

"Thanks, Kurama. I'm sorry for kissing her. I know you two are close," Yusuke commented.

"It's not like that," Shuichi said firmly, his thoughts echoing the words. "We're just friends. Although if I knew that your actions weren't in jest, I just might have had to hurt you."

"And _I_ would have helped." I whirled around to face the new voice and saw, once again, the silver kitsune. His aura sent waves of brotherly protection that were extremely strong to my newfound powers.

Suddenly, everything went black.

I awoke in a white room, attached to strange machines that whirred continuously. Looking around, I saw Shuichi in a chair reading a magazine. Yusuke was asleep in a similar chair. I sat up.

Upon hearing me stir Shuichi looked up. "Ah, you're awake."

I nodded feebly. "Where are we? What's going on?"

"We're in the Reikai hospital," Shuichi explained. "You've been passing out so frequently that I thought something might be wrong."

Just then a girl in a nurse outfit with bubble-gum pink hair and matching eyes entered that room. "And he was right. You're very sick. If hadn't caught it when he did…" she trailed off, apparently reluctant to complete her sentence.

"So, what is wrong with me?" I asked, impatient.

"It's a rare but deadly disease called spirit flu. Early symptoms are spastic, uncontrollable uses of demonic powers followed shortly by collapse. If caught in time, it can be reversed, but if allowed to run it's course, the victim dies."

"And was my case caught in time?" I demanded.

"Thankfully, your friend here realized something must be wrong and took you straight here. You should be fine in a few days."

I breathed a sigh of relief. As much as I disliked humans, I wasn't ready to leave the land of the living just yet. "Thanks Shuichi," I said gratefully.

"But while you are here, you'll need to rest, so lay back down and try to relax," the nurse advised.

I nodded again and lay down. After a moment of thought, began to chuckle softly.

"What's so funny?" Yusuke inquired.

"I just thought of something. Remember when someone attached Kuwabara the other day? That random spurt of flame?"

Yusuke nodded.

"I think that was me. The nurse said that one of the symptoms were spastic, automatic use of powers. Also, I fainted just after that." I began to chuckle again, and Yusuke joined me, laughing hysterically.

"That's great!" He said in between laughs. "I can't wait to see his face!"

I turned to Shuichi. "Did you know it was me?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "I knew that it wasn't Hiei, but other than that I wasn't sure who it was or wasn't."

The three of us began to laugh once again at the irony of the situation.

* * *

I hope that that was better than the last one. You have no idea how much I hope that. 


	19. Recovery

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to read this series, and more thanks to everyone who has reviewed, both good and bad reviews. As long as they are constructive, I don't mind people telling what I'm doing wrong! Hope you all like it!

* * *

Previously:

"We're in the Reikai hospital," Shuichi explained. "You've been passing out so frequently that I thought something might be wrong."

"It's a rare but deadly disease called spirit flu. Early symptoms are spastic, uncontrollable uses of demonic powers followed shortly by collapse. If caught in time, it can be reversed, but if allowed to run it's course, the victim dies."

"Thankfully, your friend here realized something must be wrong and took you straight here. You should be fine in a few days."

* * *

Chapter 19- Recovery

After we had conversed for a few minutes, I glanced at the clock. It read: 12:01 a.m. "Shuichi!" I exclaimed. "It's past midnight!"

"Yes," he admitted. "What's wrong?"

"Shouldn't you be…y'know…at home? Won't your mother worry?"

"She thinks I am asleep. Your mother thinks you are at Botan's house, which you will be in a few days," He explained.

"Botan…she's the not-so-grim reaper with the blue hair, right?"

Shuichi smiled at my description of the girl. "Correct," he said.

"So why is my mom fine with my being at her house for a few days? She doesn't even know Botan."

"She said she was a friend from junior high school who you were visiting for the afternoon. Unfortunately, the weather trapped you in her house so that you have to stay there until the storm is over and the roads are clear enough to drive on. Koenma is making sure that the weather stays bad where Botan supposedly lives. Don't worry; everything has been taken care of. Although we did tell your mother that you were sick…" Shuichi trailed off.

Accidentally listening in on his thoughts, I noticed that he was remembering her distressed reaction. She had completely lost all of her composure because I was far away from home and sick. I pitied Shuichi for having to endure her when she was like that, even over the phone.

Noticing the tense expression clearly etched on my face, Shuichi said good-bye and left, taking Yusuke with him.

After that day I dozed on and off, and completely lost track of time. Every so often the nurse would come in and give me some sort of medication, a green fluid that was somehow burning and soothing at the same time. The medicine always made me extremely drowsy.

* * *

When I woke up again, I noticed three things: first off all, I was laying on my side in what seemed to be a real bed rather than a hard hospital bed. Secondly, it must be storming, because a sudden clap of thunder seemed to be what awoke me, along with the sound of the pouring rain and banging hail. Thirdly, I noticed that someone's arm was draped over me, and that the arm did not belong to me. The owner of the arm was snoring loudly.

Startled, I turned over and came face-to-face with a girl I almost immediately recognized as Botan. Breathing a sigh of relief that I was not being held hostage or anything, I slipped out of the bed and exited the room, shutting the door behind me. I came out into a hallway with descending stairs at the end. Looking down at myself, I noticed that I was still wearing my school uniform, which was quite wrinkled. Shrugging, I went down the stairs, which led to a living room that was quite quaint. Hearing voices in the next room, I followed them to a kitchen.

Shuichi looked up when I entered. "You're awake."

"Where are we?" I asked looking around. Shuichi, Yusuke, and Kuwabara seemed to be the only ones around.

"We're in a house that Koenma keeps for situations like this. As of now, it is Botan's house," Shuichi replied.

Suddenly, a pair of arms latched onto my waist. "You're awake!" A soft female voice cried.

As she did so memories flashed through my mind. Yusuke skipping school…student council meetings…Yusuke dying…Yusuke coming back to life…a hard English test…Yusuke saving Keiko from possessed zombies…Yusuke in the dark tournament. The images whirled through my head, making me weak with fatigue. The girl let go, and I stumbled forward, towards the floor.

Shuichi stepped forward and caught me.

I winced, expecting another flow of unwanted memories. Surprisingly, they never came. I looked up at him tiredly. "Why can't I read your mind?" I asked quietly.

"I made sure to block my mind before I touched you. You couldn't read my mind even if you wanted to," he replied softly.

"What's wrong?" the girl asked. I turned and saw that she had short brown hair and dark eyes. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no," I began, but Shuichi explained for me.

"Riku has telepathic abilities that she doesn't quite have complete control over yet. Physical touch acts as a catalyst for these powers, making them stronger. When you touched her, she was flooded with your thoughts, and possibly your memories."

I nodded weakly. "I'll be fine, Keiko. It just surprised me." I pulled myself away from Shuichi and stuck out my hand. "Pleased to finally meet you."

Keiko looked uncertainly at my hand before taking it and shaking. _'I hope I don't hurt her again by shaking her hand,'_ she thought anxiously.

"Don't worry; I'm fine, I promise."

Keiko looked up, startled, and then smiled. "It's nice to meet you, too."

Just then, Botan came running in. An oar appeared in her hands as she dashed towards the open window. "I've got to go!" She said. "Koenma needs me."

"Ask him if he's figured anything out," Shuichi called.

"That's why he called me over there. I'll be back soon." With that, she jumped onto the oar, which flew off into the dark and stormy skies.

"What's going on?" I asked, confused. "What did you ask Koenma?"

"It's nothing, Riku," he assured me. "Just go back to bed. You're very weak, and you need your sleep. Keiko, will you take her back to her room?"

Keiko agreed to, and we walked back up the stairs and into the bedroom I had awoken in. I lay down and immediately fell asleep, not even bothering to pull the blankets up around me.


	20. Asuka?

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

If I don't update in awhile, it's because life has been CRAZY lately. But I promise I'll update ASAP.

Wow, we're already to chapter twenty. I've worked hard on this, and I hope everyone that has read this enjoys it. I send my sincere thanks to everyone that has reviewed with comments and compliments. You're the driving force behind these updates.

* * *

Previously:

"Ask Koenma if he's figured anything out," Shuichi called.

"That's why he called me over there. I'll be back soon." With that, she jumped onto the oar, which flew off into the dark and stormy skies.

I lay down and immediately fell asleep, not even bothering to pull the blankets up around me.

* * *

Chapter 20- Asuka?

I awoke to a particularly deafening clap of thunder, which meant that the storm was still going strong. _Lovely,_ I thought sarcastically. I knew the downpour was for my recovery, but I really hate storms. Sighing, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. I noticed that some clothes had been thrown over a chair, so I went to examine them. The clothes consisted of black jeans and a black t-shirt, so I decided it was safe to assume the clothes were for me rather than Botan. I quickly changed out of my wrinkled magenta school uniform and went downstairs to see what was going on without me.

Shuichi, Yusuke, Keiko, and Kuwabara were in the living room watching a movie. Well, Yusuke and Kuwabara were watching a movie while Keiko chastised them on their choice of movie and Shuichi read a novel. I could sense another presence in the house, but I didn't really bother with it. I trusted the guys to keep out anything dangerous- that is, except themselves.

Shuichi looked up upon my entrance. "You're awake," he commented, smiling.

"Mh-hm," I agreed, nodding drowsily. "Sleep felt good, though. Thanks to whoever left the clothes out for me- I needed to change."

"It wasn't a problem. How are you feeling?"

"Much better," I said, stretching. "I needed the sleep."

"Good, we can leave now," Yusuke said. The movie was quickly turned off and Botan was called and asked to make a portal to the Reikai.

"Why are we going there?" I asked.

Kuwabara started to answer, but Shuichi cut him off. "Business," he said simply.

I raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

When we got to the Reikai we were immediately ushered into Koenma's large office, where he was doing paperwork. Botan was with him, handing him some more papers. Koenma put down the paper he was about to stamp when we walked in. "I see you're finally up and around," he commented to me. "Is she completely recovered?"

Shuichi nodded. "The doctors and nurses did a wonderful job. They said her spells shouldn't happen again. Did you find anything?"

"Yes, that's why I called you here. I think I've discovered a way for Asuka to recover her memories."

"What?" I asked, suddenly afraid. I wasn't so sure I wanted to kitsune's memories inside of me. "I don't want her memories. They belong to her, not me."

Shuichi stepped towards me. "These memories could be very useful, Asuka," he said gently.

"I'm not Asuka," I replied, stepping back. "And I don't want to be her. I'm _Riku_."

Shuichi stopped and stared at me for a moment. "I know, Riku, but these recollections could aid you. You need them."

"What makes you say that?" I asked. I bit my bottom lip nervously.

"Because you won't be whole until you do," he answered. His eyes showed a sincerity that told me he knew exactly how I felt—the uncertainty, the confusion—even the fear was there, hidden in the cavernous depths of his eyes. I wasn't alone.

"Alright," I finally agreed. "I'll do it."

"Good," Koenma broke in. "Shuichi, she'll need you there with her, since you know better than any of us what's happening to her." He led the two of us through a labyrinth of hallways to a small, plain door. He opened the door and we walked inside.

The room was plain, with no wallpaper or paint on it's white walls Two red plush chairs surrounded a small table. On the table was a vial of violet liquid.

"Drink that vial," Koenma instructed me. "Then the memories should come back." With that Koenma left, shutting the door behind him.

We sat in the chairs and I picked up the vial, turning it over in my hands and examining it from every angle. I looked up at Shuichi. "I'm scared," I admitted bluntly. "What if I can't control her? I'm not as strong as you, Shuichi."

He smiled. "Do you really believe that I am more powerful than Yoko? Your situation is different than mine, so I can't say anything for sure. But from what we've witnessed, t seems as though you are Asuka, not just a human Asuka has chosen to live in. You just lost your memories when you changed shells. Asuka cannot take control because she already has it. Do you understand?"

I nodded, still staring at the clear bottle.


	21. Back In Action

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

* * *

Previously:

"That's why I called you here. I think I've discovered a way for Asuka to recover her memories," Koenma said.

* * *

I nodded, still staring at the clear bottle.

* * *

Chapter 21- Back in Action

"I can't do this," I said to Shuichi.

"Why not?" he asked. His question was not reproachful, just curious.

"I can't even control the powers I have right now. How am I supposed to control the powers I'm going to get when I drink this? I don't think I'll be able to."

"All right, then; let's go inform Koenma that you won't be drinking it." Shuichi stood and took the vial from me, placing it back onto the table.

"I'll drink it later. I just don't think it would be wise to let her out just yet," I said, wanting to justify my actions.

"That's fine. If you don't think you're prepared for this, I'm not going to force you to do it. You know what you're ready for better than I do at this point."

We left the white room and found our way back to Koenma's office. "Riku has decided to wait a bit before getting her memories back. There are more important things to do at the moment," Shuichi explained.

Koenma nodded. "That's fine. Come back when you decide it's time."

We left the Reikai through a portal that Koenma made for us. "I suppose it's about time that I go home, huh?" I asked. "My mom's probably going insane."

Shuichi nodded. "I called my mother to talk to her, and she said that your mother was quite worried about you. I'll take you home tonight. You may be better, but you're still too weak to be wandering around your neighborhood alone."

"Alright," I agreed. That way Yusuke wouldn't have to do it, avoiding awkward circumstances between myself and my mother.

When we got to my house, my mother ran out to meet us. "Riku! You're okay!" She cried, throwing her arms around me. "I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Mom- Mom, I won't be if you don't let go of me," I gasped.

"Shuichi, thank you for staying with her while she was sick," my mother said graciously.

"It's not like he had a choice," I said to her, my face slightly red. My mother can be pretty embarrassing at times.

"Riku, be nice. Shuichi, come inside. It's late, and you don't need to walk home alone. I'll call your mother and tell her about the arrangement." She herded us into the house and went to the phone to call Shiori.

"Do you want anything to eat or drink?" I asked Shuichi, trying to be a good hostess.

"No, I'm fine Riku. I'm just going to go sit down in the living room."

"I'll come with you."

We sat down on the couch and talked quietly about how to take my training from there until my mother finished her phone call. "Shiori said she'll be here to pick you up in a minute," she informed us.

"Thank you, Mrs. Yamashita," Shuichi said.

"It's no problem, Shuichi."

I yawned widely.

"Maybe you should go to sleep, Riku. You're still weak from your illness," Shuichi suggested.

"No, I'm fine. I'll wait for your mom to get here."

My mother kept the conversation going, asking Shuichi questions about school, his family, etc., etc.

Listening to their voices, I slowly let my eyelids droop. The last thing I remembered was finally allowing my eyes to close and letting my head fall onto Shuichi's shoulder.

* * *

By the time I woke up, it was morning. I was in my bedroom, lying on mybed.Glancing at the clock, I groaned. It was time to get up for school. I tiredly swung my legs over the edge of the bed and grabbed a clean uniform before stumbling to the bathroom and locking the door.

Shortly thereafter I came out, refreshed and awake. I quickly stuffed my books into my bag, along with an extra set of clothes to change out of once school was over. "Bye Mom," I called over my shoulder as I grabbed a slice of bread and the sick note she had left on the table for me and walked out the door.

The blue, cloudless sky hung over my head as if an omen. I felt as if nothing could go wrong that day. I was badly mistaken.

By the time I got to school, I was exhausted. I still wasn't fully recovered yet, and the short walk to the high school wore me out quickly. Even so, I was an hour early. I sat in what was becoming my usual desk behind Shuichi, who was already there.

He took one look at me and sighed. "You walked here, didn't you?"

"I had to; I can't drive, and my mom can't give me a ride," I replied, shrugging.

"You're still not quite well yet, Riku. You don't need to be walking such extreme distances as of yet. You should have called someone."

"I'm fine, Shuichi, really."

He looked at me evenly. "You need to be careful, Riku. It's dangerous for you to be walking around your neighborhood alone, especially when you're still drained."

"Fine, I'll find someone to give me a ride," I conceded. Thinking about it, I realized that there was no one to give me a ride. _My mom works, my dad's out of town, and I don't have any siblings or neighbors. No need to tell Shuichi that, though. I'll just leave really early tomorrow so that I'll be able to take my time walking to school. That way I won't be as tired._

"Are you feeling up to lessons today?" Shuichi asked, changing the subject.

"Of course I am. I can't let a little illness stop me from studying," I replied.

More people entered the room then. "Shuichi!" one of the girls cried. "You're back!" The people proceeded to surround Shuichi and interrogate him, asking him where he had been, if he was okay, if he needed anything. "None of us could check on you, because no one knows where you live or anything. We were all really worried," one of the guys said.

During all of this, I resigned myself to picking up a book and reading it, making a desperate attempt to ignore the crowd of people. Not one of them said a word to me, either.

When Ms. Shinomori entered the room, I stood and gave her the note my mother had given me for the teachers.

"What did you have that kept you at home for almost three weeks?" she inquired as she read the note and signed it.

My eyes widened. I had known I had been out for awhile, but three weeks? "It was a really bad case of the flu," I answered.

Ms. Shinomori nodded sympathetically and handed me back the note.

The remainder of the day followed basically the same pattern: the other students crowded around Shuichi and ignored me, and the teachers all gave me sympathetic looks at my extended illness and the hefty amount of work I would have to make up.

It stung that none of the other students even noticed my return, and I wondered if they had realized I was missing at all. _It doesn't matter,_ I told myself fiercely. _None of these people are my friends, so why should I care if they missed me or not?_ But as much as I longed for indifference, the rejection of my peers smarted painfully.

After the last bell rang, I eagerly went to my locker and packed the books I would need into my backpack. Then I ran to the restroom and changed into my spare clothes before finding Shuichi at his locker, still surrounded by people. I hung back a bit, away from the noisy crowd. When he glanced in my direction, I signaled to him that I would meet him outside. He nodded slightly in response, so I went outside to wait.

When he finally exited the school, he came without his admiring horde. "Well, that was an interesting day," he commented.

"Indeed," I replied. "Watching your fan club was quite amusing—for the first few seconds."

He opened his mouth to respond, but there was nothing to say. He was popular, I was not. End of story.

"Riku!" someone shouted behind me. Turning around, I saw Chiyo running to catch up with us. "You're back!" she shouted joyfully, tackling me. "I would have come and said 'hi' sooner, but I was running errands for Ms. Zenko all day," she explained. "I heard you were back, and I couldn't wait to talk to you. Are you okay? You're all better, right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now," I answered. "Where did you hear I was back? No one's said a word to me all day."

"Oh. Well, I heard some of the girls talking about how you were back. They said you looked busy, so they didn't want to bother you," she said nervously.

Suspecting that that wasn't the entire story, I cautiously touched her mind to see what had happened.

"_I'm, like, so glad that Shuichi's back!" Kana exclaimed. "It's been, like, so boring without him."_

_Shizuka nodded. "It's a shame that Riku Yamashita was sitting behind him first period, though. She wasn't even talking to him! If you're going to use up precious space next to Shuichi, at least make good use of it."_

I flinched inwardly, but gave no outward sign that I knew what Chiyo had heard. _At least they noticed me,_ I thought ruefully.

"Well, I have to go now. My mom's waiting for me, and she's in a hurry. But I'll talk to you later. Bye Riku." Noticing that Shuichi was there with me, her cheeks darkened a bit. "Bye, Shuichi. I'm glad you're back, too" With that, Chiyo dashed off towards the parking lot.

I smiled to myself. It wasn't much, but it felt really good to know that someone cared.


	22. Torn

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Hiei will be in this a lot more, I promise. He is my favorite character in the entire show (Him, not Kurama) and so of course he will play a main role. I just need to get to that point in the story.

* * *

Previously:

"Riku has decided to wait a bit before getting her memories back. There are more important things to do at the moment," Shuichi explained.

Koenma nodded. "That's fine. Come back when you decide it's time."

* * *

"I suppose it's about time that I go home, huh?" I asked.

* * *

"You're still not quite well yet, Riku. You don't need to be walking extreme distances as of yet."

* * *

The day followed basically the same pattern: the other students crowded around Shuichi and ignored me, and the teachers all gave me sympathetic looks at my extended illness and the hefty amount of work I would have to make up.

* * *

I smiled to myself. It wasn't much, but it felt really good to know that someone cared.

* * *

Chapter 22- Torn

"She seems nice," Shuichi commented. "I don't have any classes with her, so we've never spoken."

I nodded. "She's very nice. She's the only person that seems to care about me here."

"That's not true," Shuichi said softly.

"Oh, really? Who else is there, then? The entire population of this school that didn't say a word to me all day? The girls that said I was a waste of space?" I winced at the memory.

"You seem to be forgetting myself."

I bit the inside of my lip, but said nothing. _He doesn't care about me. He just doesn't want me to lose control at school and burn everything to a crisp. He only cares that I'm a demon. He's too popular to care about me._

Shuichi read through my silence. "You think I'm just being polite to you because you're a demon." It was a statement, not a question, but I nodded anyway. "That's not true, Riku. If that was the case, why would I stay with you when you were in the hospital?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. You're polite to everyone, though. Even when all those girls are hanging off of you, and I can tell you're annoyed, you never say anything about it. You're just as polite to them as you would be to someone you like."

"Then how do you know they annoy me?" He countered.

"Something in your face gives it away. Besides, I can read minds, remember? Not that I would read yours on purpose or anything."

"If you had read my mind, you would realize that I consider you a friend." It was then that he decided to change the subject. "How much control did you have today?"

"I concentrated really hard on blocking them out, so I didn't really hear much of anything. A few random bits and pieces, but nothing much."

"That's good. Just try not to block too much out."

"What do you mean?" I asked, a bit confused.

"Keep your mind open to your name. That way, if anyone tries to contact you telepathically, you will hear them," he explained.

Our conversation was then shattered by someone shouting my name. Looking forward to the school gate, I saw Takeshi waiting for me. I smiled and walked toward him, Shuichi close behind. "How's it goin'?" I asked conversationally.

"What do you mean 'how's it goin'? You've been sick for almost three weeks! You weren't at home, either, and your mom refused to tell me where you were!" Takeshi almost shouted. He quickly pulled me into a strong hug. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I'm alright. Do you think I'm going to let something like the flu get the best of me?" I could sense Shuichi frowning behind me. Wondering what was wrong, I took a quick peek into his mind.

_She's so indifferent about her disease. She almost died, but she's waving it off as if it were nothing but a mortal disease. She needs to take better care of herself._

I frowned slightly, but waved it off. "So why are you here?" I asked Takeshi.

"Why am I here? To see you, of course. I wanted to see if you wanted to get ice cream or something," He explained.

"Sounds good, but Shuichi and I already have plans…" I drifted off, unsure of what to do. Takeshi had been my best friend all through junior high. I really missed him when he was away. On the other hand, Shuichi was a good friend now, and he was a demon like me. Besides, I really needed the training. I pursed my lips and quickly made a decision. "But I guess we could get something to eat with you before we…train."

"Train for what?"

"Shuichi's teaching me how to…"

"—make paper-mache birds," Shuichi completed for me.

I bit back a smile, but managed to keep a straight face. "Yeah. It's really interesting. Do you want to come watch?"

The look on Takeshi's face was priceless. "Um…well, that sounds like something you really need to concentrate on and stuff, so I'll pass on coming and watching. I might distract you or something."

"Okay, if you're sure," I said as if uncertain.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Let's go and get that ice cream." He turned and began to walk down the road towards the ice cream parlor. _Although it would be better if Minamino weren't coming. It seems as though every time I try to hang out with her either Minamino or Urameshi is there. I'm through with the life I had with Urameshi and his gang, and I've never been a big fan of Minamino. He's too popular. I guess even Ri can't resist his charm._

My cheeks tinted slightly at his thoughts, but I tried not to act strangely. Am_ I just like the rest of them? Is it his charm that drew me, his appearance? I never thought of it like that before, but Takeshi knows me inside-out. Is he right? Am I just another member of Shuichi's fan club?_ I bit my lip. _I don't want to be like them._

"Are you all right?" Shuichi whispered softly to me. "Do I need to take you home? You look tired."

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine. Just a bit…frustrated."

"At whom?" He prodded.

"It's nothing. I'll be fine, I promise."

Shuichi wasn't satisfied, but he didn't push the subject.

I glanced at Takeshi and saw him looking strangely at me, as if he was trying to figure out what we were talking about. "Shuichi was just asking me if I needed to sit down," I offered. "I've been sick for a long time, you know, and…" Takeshi nodded, reassured, so I didn't bother to finish my sentence.

We finally arrived at the ice cream parlor and ordered our food. I ate as quickly as I could so that we could leave sooner. The tension was disturbing me. Shuichi wasn't bothered by Takeshi, but Takeshi obviously disliked Shuichi.

When we finished, I gave Takeshi a hug. "I'm glad you're back," I said. "I really missed my best friend."

"I missed you too."

I smiled and walked away with Shuichi towards the park to practice. We entered the woods near the park and started towards the clearing where we had been practicing.

"I don't like him," a masculine voice said behind me.

I jumped, not expecting to hear _his _voice. "Why should I care if you like him or not?" I said more bravely than I felt. The two of us sustained our pace as if nothing had happened.

"He's too close to you. Besides, he hates me," Yoko continued as if he hadn't heard me.

"Well, that makes two of us. The thing is, he can't hate you; he's never met you."

"He hates my weaker half. I don't like him."

"I'm not asking you to," I replied coldly.

"If I can't protect you, then what am I to do?"

I swung to face the silver kitsune that was substantially taller than I and stopped walking. "Stay out of my life. I don't want to ever see you again."

Yoko's amber eyes faltered for a moment, but his expression was otherwise unchanged. "Very well. Good-bye, Asuka." His cold features immediately melted into Shuichi's gentle ones.

"He's just trying to protect you, Riku," he said softly.

"I don't need protection from someone like him!"

"He is a part of me."

I bit my lip. "He's nothing like you."

"He is a part of me Riku, just as Asuka is a part of you. Even more so, in some ways."

I was torn between my friendship with Shuichi and my hatred of the fox. "I'm sorry, Shuichi. I have nothing against you, but Yoko scares me more than anything. I can't stand to be around him, especially when no one else is here."

"I understand, Riku. I understand."

But I had the feeling that he was hurt by the fact that I could not accept all of him.


	23. Mugged

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

* * *

Previously:

_It seems as though every time I try to hang out with her either Minamino or Urameshi is there. I'm through with the life I had with Urameshi and his gang, and I've never been a big fan of Minamino. He's too popular. I guess even Ri can't resist his charm, _Takeshi thought bitterly.

* * *

I swung to face the silver kitsune that was substantially taller than I and stopped walking. "Stay out of my life. I don't want to ever see you again."

Yoko's amber eyes faltered for a moment, but his expression was otherwise unchanged. "Very well. Good-bye, Asuka." His cold features immediately melted into Shuichi's gentle ones.

"He is a part of me," Shuichi said softly.

I bit my lip. "He's nothing like you."

"He is a part of me Riku, just as Asuka is a part of you. Even more so, in some ways."

"Yoko scares me more than anything."

"I understand, Riku. I understand."

But I had the feeling that Shuichi was hurt by the fact that I could not accept all of him.

* * *

Chapter 23- Mugged

Over the next few weeks I trained and learned to have control over my powers. It was now simple to block out the cacophony of voices that materialized in my head. I had already had my power over flame pretty much under control, but I refined it to the point that I could do just about anything I wanted.

Yoko had kept to his promise and I hadn't seen or heard from him since the day I made him promise to leave me alone. It surprised me that he had, but I wasn't about to complain.

My mother forgot her suspicions about Yusuke and had her hopes set on my becoming a couple with Shuichi, to which I adamantly resisted. Shuichi had become a very close friend to me, and I wasn't interested in a romantic relationship with him. I never told Shuichi about my mother's fantasies, but he probably figured it out by the way my mother fawned over him.

Takeshi was still in Japan. He was planning on staying until the end of the semester at Sarayashiki High. For the first week or so after my recovery Takeshi showed up at Meiou after school to pick me up, but I kept having to put it off, telling him I was still learning about paper-mache. I don't think he believed me, but he never said anything about it. I always made time for him during the weekends, though. Takeshi was still one of my best friends, no matter how poorly he got along with my other companions. I knew that he just wanted to hang out with me, and if I hadn't been training, I would have been fine with hanging out with Takeshi rather than Shuichi a few days out of the week—not that I favored either one of them. I felt slightly guilty about lying to Takeshi about the training, but what could I tell him?

During one such afternoon training session, my cell phone rang. "Honey," my mom said. "I need you home. Your father's getting back from his trip in Australia tonight; he said he'd be here in an hour or so."

"Alright, I'll be there." Hanging up, I looked at Shuichi. "I'm gonna have to cut this one short, Shuichi. My dad's coming home tonight."

"That's quite alright, Riku. We were probably going to discontinue training in a moment anyway," he noted, looking up at the darkening sky. "Do you need me to escort you home?"

I shook my head. "I'll be fine. See you later, Shuichi."

"Good-bye, Riku."

* * *

I pulled my jacket closer around me as the night chill began to settle in. I held back the urge to run. _Dad is finally coming back tonight!_ I thought excitedly. _I haven't seen him in ages! _

Hearing footsteps behind me, I turned around. There was no one there. Frowning, I shrugged. My mind was starting to play tricks on me because of my mother's horror stories about going out alone. Great. I continued walking, listening carefully for a repetition of the footsteps. Sure enough, the came. I stopped suddenly to see if they would continue. They did. I spun around, but not before my pursuers reached me.

There were three tough-looking adolescent males. They had probably gotten bored and decided to pick on innocent passer-by, a.k.a. me. They quickly surrounded me so I couldn't run away. "How'ya doin' girl?" one asked. His mouth was twisted in a cruel smirk.

"Leave me alone," I said threateningly.

"Or what?" the second thug asked.

"Or you will regret it," I replied.

They all laughed and walked closer.

I bit my lip nervously. Shuichi had told me a million times never to use my powers in front of humans, but I was in extreme danger now. I knew that using my powers on them was dangerous. What if they told someone? What if someone else saw? I couldn't use my abilities here. _I should have let Shuichi walk me home. He may be a pretty boy, but at least he's a guy. Maybe they wouldn't have bothered us. Even if they did, Shuichi would know what to do._ I decided that I would refrain from firepower and kicked the first attacker in the stomach.

Within minutes, the three thugs had me pinned against a wall in a sitting position so that I couldn't lash out at them. "That was a nice try, girl, but not quite nice enough," the larger one said. He pulled back his fist to punch me.

I shut my eyes, knowing that I was quickly running out of options. I opened one eye, and glanced up at the sky, but the sun had already gone down. I would have to make fire myself rather than let the sun's heat help. I bit my tongue, re-closed my eyes, and concentrated on fire.

The two smaller goons released me seconds before my body heated up enough to hurt them, and the punch never came. I opened my eyes, surprised at their reaction. My skin temperature hadn't changed enough for them to notice at all, so why had they let go?

What shocked me even more was the sight that met me when I opened my eyes. A silver kitsune yokai stood between me and my attackers. "What do you think you are doing to my sister?" He asked menacingly.

The frightened teens took yelped and took off—or, rather, tried to. Yoko beat them up a bit before letting them escape.

During all of this, I curled up and cried softly to myself. _He's going to beat them unconscious, then kill me so that it will look like they did it. The only reason he hasn't killed me sooner is because people would look for me if I disappeared, and there was no one else to blame it on._

After my assailants had fled, the silver fox knelt in front of me. "Are you alright?" he asked gently.

Suddenly, my fear of him melted away. He had wanted to save me, not murder me. I nodded wordlessly and threw myself into his arms, sobbing.

"I know I promised to leave you alone, but I figured you would allow me to make an exception in this case," he commented.

I nodded meekly. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Yoko patted my back. "It's all right. You're okay now." I felt his presence subside until it was Shuichi holding me.

"Are you ready to go home?" he asked me.

I nodded and he helped me stand up before walking me home the rest of the way.


	24. Escort

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

* * *

Previously:

Within minutes, the three thugs had me pinned against a wall in a sitting position so that I couldn't lash out at them. The larger thug pulled back his fist to punch me.

* * *

A silver kitsune yokai stood between me and my attackers. "What do you think you are doing to my sister?" He asked menacingly.

* * *

After my assailants had fled, the silver fox knelt in front of me. "Are you alright?" he asked gently.

Suddenly, my fear of him melted away. He had wanted to save me, not murder me. I nodded wordlessly and threw myself into his arms, sobbing.

"Are you ready to go home?" he asked me.

I nodded and he helped me stand up before walking me home the rest of the way.

* * *

Chapter 24- Escort

When we got home, my mother opened the door. She stifled a scream when she saw my bruised body leaning on Shuichi. "What happened?" she asked.

"I got mugged by some morons. Shuichi found me shortly after they ran off," I replied weakly. "It's nothing to be worried about."

Ignoring my last comment, my mother turned to Shuichi. "Is she alright?" she asked nervously.

"She will be fine as soon as she gets cleaned up and some rest."

By this time, my father had entered the room and demanded to know what had happened.

Shuichi explained everything to them, minus Yoko. "I was walking to the grocery store when I noticed a commotion. When I approached the scene, the attackers fled. I realized the victim was Riku and escorted her home."

'_Were you really just going to the grocery store?'_ I asked him.

'_No. But it would hardly do to tell them I heard your telepathic cry for help,'_ he replied.

I glanced at him, confused. _'I never sent you a telepathic message.'_

'_When a telepath, especially a novice, feels an exceptionally strong emotion, like fear, they unconsciously send that emotion to those closest to them,' _he explained.

I mentally shrugged and turned to my father. "I'm so glad you're back," I said, embracing him. He had been gone for almost two months, and I had missed him immensely.

My dad smiled. "I'm glad I'm back, too. I would ask that you stay up so we could talk, but I think it's best for you to go to bed now. Good night, Riku."

"'Night, Dad," I replied. "'Night, Mom."

"Good night, Riku. One more thing before you go to bed: wait before you leave for school tomorrow. I'm going to get someone to walk you."

"What? Why?" I asked, confused.

"You shouldn't be walking down these streets alone; it's far too dangerous. I knew that all along, but you assured me that you would be fine, so I let you go alone. You're going to have an escort from now on," she said firmly.

I thought quickly, trying to think of a way to talk her out of this. I glanced at Shuichi, but I couldn't read his expression, and I didn't want to dig around in his head just then. "I guess you're right, Mom," I said. "I'm sure Yusuke wouldn't mind giving walking me to school every day."

Her expression hardened. "But I would. Yusuke will _not_ be the one escorting my daughter to school. He's the reason you need an escort, Riku."

I frowned. "Mom, Yusuke is a very good friend of mine, and I trust him." _For the most part._

"Well, I don't."

"Wait," my father interrupted. "Yusuke Urameshi?"

"Yes," my mother said. "Don't you agree with me, dear? That he is not a suitable friend for her?"

"Well, if she trusts him, then maybe he's not so…" he stopped when he saw the look that my mother shot him. "If your mother says no, then the answer is no."

My mother's eyes suddenly brightened, and I immediately suspected that something was up. "Shuichi could take you."

"What?" I turned to Shuichi, but, once again, I couldn't perceive what was going through his head, and I wanted to respect his privacy. I wouldn't want people constantly going into my head whenever they wanted to know something.

"Shuichi could take you," my mom repeated.

"Don't you think you should ask his opinion first?" I asked.

"Of course. Would you take her to school on weekdays? I know it's a bit out of your way, but we would really appreciate it," she asked Shuichi sweetly.

'_Please tell her that you don't think I need an usher,'_ I silently begged him.

"I would be happy to escort her to school," Shuichi replied. He didn't look at me while he answered. "I had better go now; it's getting late. Good night, Mr. and Mrs. Yamashita. Good night, Riku."

"Good night, Shuichi," I murmured, half disappointed, half angry. As soon as Shuichi left, I said good night to my parents and retreated to my bedroom. I let out a scream of shock before Shuichi clapped his hand over my mouth.

"I thought I should explain myself before you went to sleep angry; it's not good for your health," he said to me.

"Are you alright, honey?" my mom called.

"Yeah, I just tripped," I called back. I turned to Shuichi. "Okay, explain."

"I have thought that you require an escort as well, but I didn't say anything earlier because I knew you would resist."

"Why? I can take care of myself!" I hissed.

"Like you did tonight?"

I blushed. "If you would teach me to fight…"

"You don't need to learn how to fight."

"That was a one-time thing. They were just some bored guys looking for a fight. It won't happen again," I said, turning away from Shuichi to busy myself with tidying my room.

"That particular instance may not, but you are in danger," came the calm voice of Yoko. "I have many enemies. They would all love to find some way to make me suffer. They think you are dead, which is why you haven't been attacked—yet. If any of them discover you, they will come after you. That I can promise."

"So we just have to make sure they don't find out that I'm Asuka," I said.

Yoko's eyes widened in surprise, then he smiled.

"What?" I asked defensively.

"You admitted that you are Asuka," he answered. "That is the first time you have done that."

I blushed. "Yeah, well…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say. "It's not a big deal."

"It is for me." Yoko embraced me for one moment, then jumped out the window, leaving me alone with my thoughts.


	25. Friends

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

* * *

Previously:

"I'm going to get someone to walk you to school every day. You shouldn't be walking down these streets alone; it's far too dangerous. You're going to have an escort from now on," she said firmly. "Shuichi could take you."

"I would be happy to escort her to school," Shuichi replied.

* * *

"You are in danger," came the calm voice of Yoko. "I have many enemies. They would all love to find some way to make me suffer. If any of them discover that you are alive, they will come after you. That I can promise."

* * *

Chapter 25- Friends

Then next morning I awoke in quite a good mood—that is, until I remembered the night before. I groaned at the memory. "I don't need an _escort_," I said aloud, spitting out the last word sourly. Scowling, I climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom, locking myself inside until I was dressed. Glancing out into the hallway, I made sure no one was watching before I dashed to my room and shut the door. I grabbed my backpack, opened my window, and leapt out. I somehow landed on my feet, uninjured.

"Good morning," a familiar voice said behind me.

Spinning around, I came face-to-face with Shuichi. "What are you doing here?" I asked, surprised that he was outside instead of in the living room.

"I assumed that you would try something like this, so I decided to wait outside."

I glower at him. "I don't need a babysitter, Shuichi," I said adamantly.

"No, you don't. I am a bodyguard, not a babysitter," he said.

"What's the difference?" I asked angrily.

"A babysitter protects a child from his or herself. A bodyguard protects one from other dangers."

We stared at each other for a long time, my angrily stubborn eyes and hid calmly determined ones.

"Fine; I'll let you walk me. Just be glad we're friends."

Shuichi smirked and began to walk down the road, me at his heels. "Lessons tonight?" he inquired after awhile.

"Yeah, as usual. Why do you even bother to ask anymore?" I asked.

"You might have plans," he stated simply.

"Like what? My social life is non-existent, in case you haven't noticed."

"First there's your family. Second, Takeshi. Then there is myself and Yusuke."

I looked at him dubiously. "I have never skipped a lesson to hang out with Yusuke."

"I'm just making sure that you don't have plans."

I smiled. "Thanks for checking. I'll meet you outside the front doors after school."

School was fairly boring that day. Classes were dull, the cafeteria food was dull (not dangerous, for once), and the people were dull—that is, until World Literature, my last class. We were studying the Hebrew books of wisdom literature.

"In Proverbs 8, what does the writer mean when he says:

'Does not wisdom call out?

Does not understanding raise her

Voice?

On the heights along the way,

Where the paths meet, she takes

Her stand;

Beside the gates leading into the

city,

at the entrances, she cries aloud:

'To you O men, I call out;

I raise my voice to all mankind.

You who are simple, gain

prudence;

you who are foolish, gain

understanding.

Listen, for I have worthy things to

Say;

I open my lips to speak what is right.'?"

Mrs. Ando asked the class. She had black hair that was just starting to become streaked with grey stripes, which she kept pulled into a tight knot at the nape of her neck. Her black horn-rimmed glasses magnified the wrinkles surrounding her eyes. Her features were pointed and precise, just like her teaching methods.

I decided to wait to see if someone else could answer before I threw my interpretation out. There was a long silence until Satoru Imai spoke up. "If one took the first line as it was meant to be taken, one would see that life is being compared to a bird, flying high above the treetops, signifying that we are chained to the ground—" One would have thought he was serious until they looked at his eyes, which were bubbling over with mirth. He rambled on aimlessly until Mrs. Ando stopped him.

"That's enough, Mr. Imai," she cut him off. "Does anyone have a _real_ answer?"

I raised my hand.

"Yes, Miss Yamashita?"

"It means that wisdom is calling out, offering her knowledge to anyone who is willing to listen. Anyone can be wise if they simply use common sense," I said.

Half the class turned to stare at me, in awe of my 'amazing insight.' (Note sarcastic tone)

_It's not like that wasn't obvious,_ I thought to myself. _They could have figured that out on their own if they had just thought a bit! They could at least turn around instead of staring at me._

"Correct, Miss Yamashita," Mrs. Ando replied, interrupting my reverie. "Good job."

As soon as the bell rang, I left the classroom and went to my locker, grabbing the books I needed for homework. After that, I went to the restroom and changed into some comfortable clothes (a.k.a. not a skirt). As soon as I was done with that I went to go meet Shuichi at the front of the school.

While I waited for him, I watched the people walking past me, chattering as they went towards their cars or houses. I jumped as I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Shizuka and Kanabehind me. "Yes?" I asked them.

"Where do you and Shuichi go everyday?" Shizuka demanded.

I arched an eyebrow. "We go to study. Shuichi's tutoring me."

"Why? You don't need help; you have all A's. Besides, Shuichi never helps anyone study," Kanacountered.

"I don't have all A's. I have a B in math, and that's what he's helping me with."

"Why?" she repeated.

"Our parents are friends, and my mom asked his mom if Shuichi could help me with my math," I replied, not missing a beat.

"So you're not dating or anything?" Shizuka asked.

I had known this was coming the moment they had spoken to me, but my eyes nearly bugged out of my head nevertheless. "No," I said, stepping back and putting my hands out in front of me. "No, no, no. Definitely not. We're hardly even friends."

Kana eyed me carefully, as if trying to decide whether or not I was telling the truth. I guess she believed me, because she relaxed and gave me one of the infamous fake smiles of the evil preps (Not that all preps are evil, but the ones that are happen to be really evil). "Fine. Have a nice day," she said sweetly before spinning on her heel and walking away, Shizuka tagging along behind.

Only a few moments after they left, Shuichi walked up. "Good afternoon," he greeted me.

"Hey," I responded, and we began to walk towards the park.

We talked about our day and random stuff until we were halfway there, when Shuichi turned to me with a serious look in his eye. "So we're not friends?" he asked me quietly.

"Nani (what)?" I asked, confused.

"Earlier today, you told some people that we are not friends," he said. He didn't say anything further, but I could tell that he was hurt, even if only slightly.

"Well…I…um…" I fumbled for words, not knowing what to say to explain what I had done. "You see…If I said that we were just friends, they wouldn't have believed me. And I wasn't sure what you would have wanted me to say. I wasn't sure if we were friends or not," I finally said.

"You don't know if I consider you a friend?" he asked calmly.

I looked at the ground. "No, I don't."

"Well I do. Why wouldn't I?"

"We live in two different worlds at school, Shuichi. You're the smart, gorgeous guy whom everyone loves, and I'm the smart freak that no one cares about. The two of us being friends breaks a lot of barriers that no one wanI wasn't sure if you cared about that sort of thing."

"Riku, look at me." I looked up at him. "Have I ever done anything to make you think that I care about anyone's social status?" I shook my head. "Then why do think that I do?"

I blushed. "I don't know. I just…I just find it hard to believe, I suppose. That the most popular guy in school wants to be my friend."

"Riku, I consider you a friend because you have been nothing but kind to me. Not only that, but Yusuke, Keiko and Botan consider you their friends as well."

"Keiko and Botan?" I asked. "But I've only met them.—"

"They make friends very easily," he said. "So do you believe me when I tell you that we are friends?"

I smiled. "Yeah. I believe you."

Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around me, pinning my arms to my sides. "Are you Asuka, companion to Yoko Kurama?" the person hissed.

"My name is Riku Yamashita," I replied. "But I am also known as Asuka."

"The person let go of me, and I turned around to see Yusuke behind me, smirking. "Talk about Schizophrenic," he said to me. Yusuke often stopped by to watch me train, sometimes even training with me.

"Actually, if anyone here has DID, it would be me," Shuichi corrected.

"I thought you both did," Yusuke said."

"Well, not exactly. You see, when someone sends their soul into an unborn child, they have a very small window of time in which to do it. If they are but a moment too late, they child ends up with multiple persons inside himself. When Yoko sent himself into me, he was too late, and so he has to share the body with me, it's rightful owner. When Asuka sent her soul into the unborn child, it seems as though she managed to do it at the exact moment of conception, leaving no way for the soul meant for the body to get in. Therefore, there is no 'alter ego' to fight Riku; she herself is Asuka, not just a co-owner of the body Asuka resides in like I am to Yoko," Shuichi explained.

"Oh," Yusuke said in a way that said he had not understood a word Shuichi had just said.

"Basically, I don't have multiple personalities. The only reason he does is because Yoko made a mistake," I translated.

"Oh, I get it," Yusuke said, suddenly understanding.

"Asuka made a mistake as well, though. You should have ended up with your memories intact, but instead, you remember nothing about Asuka. Your mind was wiped clean during the body transfer. Or at least, the memories were locked away."

I blushed. "Yeah, well, no one's perfect. I'll get the memories back as soon as I'm strong enough."

"I think you are strong enough," Shuichi said. "Why not go to Koenma and get them back now?"

I bit my lip. "Erm…I really don't feel ready. Maybe some other time."

Shuichi nodded. "I was just checking." He looked at Yusuke. "Why don't we skip training today and just hang out," he suggested.

"Sounds like fun to me," I replied.

Yusuke agreed, and we went back out of the woods and to the downtown area, to hang out like good friends do.


	26. Attack

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

* * *

Oh, wow. It has been FOREVER since I've updated this story, and I apologize profusely. I've just been way too busy with homework to even think about recreational activities such as this story. If you will ever forgive me, then please accept this extra-long chapter as my apologies.

* * *

Previously:

"When someone sends their soul into an unborn child, they have a very small window of time in which to do it. If they are but a moment too late, they child ends up with multiple persons inside himself. When Yoko sent himself into me, he was too late, and so he has to share the body with me, it's rightful owner. When Asuka sent her soul into the unborn child, it seems as though she managed to do it at the exact moment of conception, leaving no way for the soul meant for the body to get in. Therefore, there is no 'alter ego' to fight Riku; she herself is Asuka, not just a co-owner of the body Asuka resides in like I am to Yoko," Shuichi explained.

"Basically, I don't have multiple personalities. The only reason he does is because Yoko made a mistake," I translated.

"Asuka made a mistake as well, though. You should have ended up with your memories intact, but instead, you remember nothing about Asuka. Your mind was wiped clean during the body transfer. Or at least, the memories were locked away."

* * *

Chapter 26—Attack

I woke up early the next morning and dressed hurriedly, hoping that maybe I would be out the door before Shuichi got to my house. Nevertheless, he was waiting for me when I went outside. I stared at him for a long moment. "I really don't like you," I said after a while.

Shuichi just smiled and began to walk towards the Meiou High.

The day dragged on as usual. Once school was over, I met Shuichi at our usual place outside the front doors.

"I apologize, Riku, but I cannot train with you today. My mother has invited some of our relatives over for dinner this evening, and I must attend."

"That's fine. I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Have a nice night," I said. I then turned towards my house and started to walk home.

"However," Shuichi continued, following me. "That does not mean that I will neglect my duty to escort you home." He smiled amusedly as I glared at him. "Don't you enjoy my company, Riku?" he asked innocently.

"It doesn't have anything to do with your company; I love hanging out with you. I just don't like the fact that you think I need you to protect me," I replied hotly.

"But you do; you always have," he said softly. "And I'm not going to let anything happen to you, because you are as a sister to me."

There wasn't really anything I could say to that.

We eventually got to my house, and I threw my arms around Shuichi. "Thanks," I whispered.

"It's not a problem," he assured me before letting go and walking back down the short driveway.

I went inside and began to work on the vast mound of homework assigned to me. History, Math, and Science all began to run together in my mind as I worked diligently to complete the assignments. After about two hours of work, I was restless. I pulled on a sweater and went outside to go for a walk.

The fresh evening air was sweet and crisp. It burned in my lungs and chilled my face, but I was happy. I walked briskly down the road, past all of the houses in my neighborhood. I eventually came to the outskirts of town, where houses ceased to exist.

I eventually decided to turn back when I was suddenly rammed into—hard. I fell to the ground and the breath was forced out of my lungs, and I gasped. I had hit the ground hard, and I knew that I would have quite a few scrapes and bruises. I looked up to face my attacker, and my eyes widened in shock and fear at the sight.

A huge ogre with greenish-brown skin was near me, preparing himself for a second attack. He had sharp fangs and crimson eyes that were filled with bloodlust. He rushed at me a second time, and I rolled out of the way just in time.

I quickly leapt to my feet and took on a defensive stance, hoping that the ogre was weaker than he appeared. Shuichi had refused to teach me to fight, saying that there was no need for a woman to know such things when she had others to protect her. _Even if I can't _fight_, I do know how to control my powers, _I thought.

The demon rushed at me again, and I leapt out of the way, leaving a trail of flames behind me. As soon as I hit the ground, I spun and shot flames at him. I gasped when the flames had no effect on him. _Great,_ I thought. _The beast is flame-retardant. _

The giant rushed at me again, and I prepared to leap away at the last moment. Just then, however, a flash of black and silver attacked the creature. The demon was cut in half, and its pieces fell to the ground with a sickening thump.

I blinked, confused.

Hiei turned and glared at me. "What did you think that you were doing?" he asked, his voice low and violent.

"I-I was going for a walk when the demon attacked me. I was trying to protect myself," I stammered pitifully.

"Didn't Kurama tell you not to go out alone?" He demanded.

"Well, not really. He just said that he was going to escort me to school and back. Thanks for saving me, Hiei."

Hiei snorted. "It was nothing. But we need to get you cleaned up before you go back home; you look terrible," he said, appraising the wounds scattered across my skin. "Let's go to Kurama's house."

"But Shuichi has company today; we can't go over there," I contradicted.

"So you want to go back to your house looking like that? What would your mother say?"

I glared at him. "Fine." I turned and began the long walk to Shuichi's house.

"Surely you can go faster than that," Hiei said, sweeping me up and running.

"What are you doing!" I shouted at him.

"You're too slow," he replied simply.

Within minutes we were in Shuichi's back yard, climbing into his second-story window.

'_Kurama, get up here now,'_ I heard the telepathic message Hiei sent to Shuichi. He made no effort to conceal it from me.

A few moments later Shuichi entered his room, a worried expression etched onto his face. When he saw me, the expression intensified. "What happened?" he asked.

"Your foolish friend decided to go for a walk," Hiei told him. "She was ambushed by a demon."

"Riku! Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Shuichi. I just have a few bumps and scrapes here and there," I assured him.

He looked at my tattered clothing. "'A few bumps and scrapes'?"

I blushed and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, Shuichi: for bothering you here and for being stupid enough to be attacked. I came here because I couldn't go home looking like this, and Hiei insisted that you were the one we should go to."

Shuichi looked at me for a long moment, as if trying to decide what to do next. Then he quickly went to his closet and pulled out some jeans, a tee-shirt, and a jacket. He pulled a first-aid kit out of his dresser and ordered me to sit down on the bed. I did so, and he quickly started tending to the slight wounds on my arms and legs. "Are there any other injuries? On your back or side?" he asked when he was finished.

"No," I lied, ignoring the sharp pain on my right side, where the demon had hit me.

Shuichi sensed the lie. "Riku, tell the truth."

"I think there might be a small bruise on my side, but it's nothing, really. It probably won't even hurt unless I press on it really hard."

"Hn."

Shuichi raised an eyebrow before very gently brushing his fingertips over my right side. I gasped, then quickly tried to recover.

"That tickles, Shuichi!"

"Does it now? Hiei, is Yukina still staying with Genkai?" Shuichi asked.

"Yes."

"Could you go get her for me?"

Hiei turned to go, but I stopped him. "Wait," I said. "It's really not that bad, I promise. I'm just really ticklish."

"Riku, either tell me the truth or show me the wound," Shuichi said seriously.

My eyes widened in surprise. "It's really not so bad that I need someone to heal me. Sure, I'll be a bit sore for a few days, but it's nothing I can't handle. Don't trouble Yukina by insisting that she come all the way out here for that."

But Hiei was already out the window, running towards Genkai's dojo.

Shuichi and I sat and talked until he returned with Yukina. First, I recounted my encounter with the oni, and then we simply talked about random things until Hiei and Yukina showed up. When they did, Hiei went out into the back yard and Shuichi went back downstairs to give us some privacy.

"Show me the bruise," Yukina said gently.

I slowly pulled up the tattered tee-shirt I was wearing until the discoloration on my side was visible.

"That is worse than I expected," Yukina admitted. "When Hiei said you were bruised, I thought he simply meant a small bump, and I wondered why Shuichi had sent for me. But he was right to; this is bad." She put her hands over the wound and immediately a cooling sensation from her powers spread over the bruise, and then to all of my other injuries.

"Thank you," I said, already feeling much better.

"It was not a problem," she replied softly.

I grabbed the clothes that Shuichi had left out for me and quickly changed into them before sending him a telepathic good-bye as Yukina and I jumped out the window. I then said farewell to Yukina and Hiei before walking down the road towards my house.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hiei asked, stepping into my path.

"Home," I said, trying to figure out where I was supposed to be going. _Am I forgetting something?_

"You seem to have forgotten that the last time you went somewhere alone you were ambushed; we're going with you."

"Oh; right," I said, blushing. "How could I forget?"

"Hiei, if it's alright with you, I think that I will just go to Kuwabara's house to say hello," Yukina said. "I will see you later."

Hiei's expression darkened, but he said nothing. He just grunted and began to walk towards my house.

We were almost home when I decided to start a conversation. Hiei had been his usual silent self throughout the journey. "I think I'm going to ask Shuichi if we can go to Koenma's tomorrow," I said suddenly.

Hiei looked up at me. "What for?"

"Yeah. I think that I want my memories back now. I feel so helpless like this, being the only one of my friends that doesn't have a clue what's going on. I really want to know about my past. Who knows, maybe I'll learn something interesting."

Hiei didn't say anything for a long time, and I had decided that he wasn't planning on responding at all when he finally answered. "I think that that is a wise decision."

By this time, we were already at my house. I thanked Hiei for everything before going inside and going to bed.


	27. Normalcy

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do, however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, which include, but are not limited to, Riku, Mr. and Mrs. Yamashita, Chiyo, and Takeshi.

Looking back on past chapters, I noticed a great many typos, including the occasional switch in point-of-view. For those of you who have noticed this, I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my soul. If there is one thing that I am OCD about, it is grammar. I type too quickly for my own good.

Oh, wow. It has been FOREVER since I've updated this story, and I apologize profusely. I've just been way too busy with homework, my job, and other various activities to even think about recreational ventures such as this story. If you will ever forgive me, then please accept this extra-long chapter as my apologies.

Previously:

After about two hours of homework, I was restless. I pulled on a sweater and went outside to go for a walk.

A huge ogre with greenish-brown skin was near me, preparing for a second attack. He had sharp fangs and crimson eyes that were filled with bloodlust. He rushed at me.

Just then, however, a flash of black and silver attacked the creature. The demon was cut in half, and its pieces fell to the ground with a sickening thump.

Hiei turned and glared at me. "What did you think that you were doing?" he asked, his voice low and violent. "Didn't Kurama tell you not to go out alone?"

"I think that I want my memories back now. I feel so helpless like this, being the only one of my friends that doesn't have a clue what's going on. I really want to know about my past. Who knows, maybe I'll learn something interesting."

Chapter 27—Memories

The next morning I awoke to the sun shining brightly on my pillow. Blinking, I sat up and looked at my alarm clock. It was 9:15. "Crap!" I screamed. "I'm late!" _How did this happen?_ _I'm never late!_ I dashed into the hallway to see my mother coming to check on me.

"What's wrong? Why are you screaming?" She asked groggily. She was still dressed in her nightgown, and my guess is that she had still been in bed, probably watching television.

"Mom, it is past nine o'clock! I am so late for school!"

"Honey, it's Saturday."

"Huh?" I thought back to yesterday, and then quickly blushed as I realized that she was right: it was indeed Saturday. "I knew that," I said, turning around and walking back into my room and locking the door. I had just collapsed on the bed when the phone rang.

"Riku, it's for you," my mom called.

"You have got to be kidding me," I groaned, rolling over and answering the phone beside my bed. "Hello?"

"Riku, please tell me that you weren't still in bed?" Shuichi asked.

"I was awake," I protested.

"But you were still in bed, weren't you?" I could hear the smile as he knew that he was right.

"Maybe."

Shuichi laughed. "Can you be ready in fifteen minutes?"

"I'll be ready in ten."

Ten minutes later the doorbell rang, and I quickly ran to open it. "Mom, I'm going to go hang out with Shuichi, okay?" I shouted over my shoulder as I ran out the door. "My cell's on."

"How are you feeling?" Shuichi asked me as I fell in step beside him.

"I feel great; Yukina did a really great job."

"And what did you learn last night?" He prodded.

I rolled my eyes. "Not to go out alone; I'm a girl and could be easily kidnapped or killed," I recited as a child would a nursery rhyme.

He laughed. "Correct. You're getting better at this."

"So where are we going?" I asked, curious.

"I really didn't have anywhere in particular in mind; I just assumed that if I didn't come get you, you would become restless and go off on your own. Besides, I decided we don't just hang out enough," he replied simply.

"That's cool. I was kind of wondering…"

"Yes?"

"Do you think that sometime soon—tomorrow or next week or something—that we could go to Koenma's and get my memories back?" I asked.

"Of course; we can go tomorrow."

"Great," I said enthusiastically.

Suddenly Shuichi pulled me into a hug. "Yoko told me to give you this," he said. "He also told me to tell you that he's proud of his little sister."

"Tell him I said thanks," I responded. Oddly enough, I meant it. "So where do you want to go?"

Shuichi shrugged. "Wherever you would like. As I said before, I didn't really have anything in mind."

"How about the movies? Do you know what's out now?"

Shuichi shook his head. "I don't."

"What kind of movies do you like? Would an action flick be okay?" I frowned, trying to picture Shuichi watching a movie with a lot of explosions. It didn't work. "What about a comedy?" Again, the mental image just didn't pan out. I growled, frustrated. "What kind of movies _do_ you like? Do you even like movies?"

Shuichi chuckled softly. "I do occasionally enjoy a movie. I'll really watch anything."

I tilted my head. "Anything?"

"What do you have in mind?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I shrugged, mimicking his gesture. "I don't know."

"Riku!"

I turned to see Takeshi waving at me. "Takeshi," I greeted, smiling at him. "How are you?"

"I'm great; what about you?" He pulled me into a casual embrace, pointedly ignoring Shuichi.

"I'm alright."

"Are you too busy to come and watch me play soccer?" he asked.

I glanced at Shuichi. "Actually, Shuichi and I were going to the movies…" I was noticing a pattern of always choosing Shuichi over Takeshi. I didn't like that, but what could I do? I had already made plans; I couldn't cancel them just because Takeshi walked up and asked me to go with him instead. He hadn't mentioned it, but I could tell that the invitation was not open to Shuichi.

"That's alright; we can go to the movies another time," he assured me. _'Takeshi can take care of you. Besides, you'll be more comfortable around him.'_

I glanced up sharply at Shuichi, and then turned to Takeshi. "I'm sorry, Takeshi, but I already made plans; you know how I am about promises." I smiled wryly. "How about we hang out tomorrow? That would be better, anyway—we would actually be able to talk to one another instead of me screaming at you from the stands."

Takeshi smiled, but I could sense that he wasn't happy I was going with Shuichi instead. _She really has gone over to his side,_ he though with such force that any telepath within range would have heard him. "Yeah, tomorrow's fine."

I gave him a hug. "I'm sorry, Takeshi. I'll see you tomorrow, though. The mall food court at eleven?"

"Your house at ten-thirty," Shuichi corrected.

I blushed. "Yeah…that."

Takeshi furrowed his brow. "What's up?"

I sighed. "It's just that…my mom seems to think that it is dangerous for me to go out alone in my neighborhood—"

"—which is correct," Shuichi interjected.

"—and so, I will need you to meet me at my house."

Takeshi shrugged. "That's fine with me. I agree with your mom—you shouldn't be out alone with guys like Urameshi wandering around."

I bit my lip, an annoyed expression on my face. "Takeshi, you are what many would consider 'a guy like Urameshi,'" I reminded him.

"Yeah, but I've reformed. You can't expect a guy like Urameshi to be anything but dangerous, Ri. If you hang out with him, you're in danger. People will think that you're a way to get to him."

"Whatever, Takeshi. I'll see you tomorrow." I grabbed Shuichi's hand and dragged him away from Takeshi. I seethed silently, too annoyed to say anything.

Shuichi let me fume for awhile before asking me "What was that about? I thought that Takeshi and Yusuke were friends."

"They were—they are. Takeshi just doesn't like it that I'm friends with him. Apparently, Yusuke is only a suitable friend for a guy." I suddenly turned on Shuichi. "And what was that about? 'You'll be more comfortable around him.' Says who?"

I could tell that he was surprised by my reaction. "Wouldn't you be? He is your friend; I am simply your tutor."

"What makes you think that?"

"You told our classmates that we were not friends. You seem to despise people of my standing. You are afraid of Yoko, who is a part of me."

"I—" I hadn't even though of it that way. I had been so focused on whether or not he thought of me as a friend that I hadn't worried about him wondering what I thought of him. "You're my best friend, Shuichi. Takeshi is a friend, but we've fallen so far out of touch that we are nowhere near as close as we once were."

"What about Yoko?" he pressed.

I took in a deep breath. "I can deal with Yoko; he doesn't scare me the way he used to."

"But he still scares you?"

I nodded. "It's going to take awhile for me to become unafraid of him. I'm getting there, though. I think."

Shuichi smiled. "I'm glad. Shall we go to the movies now?"

"Yeah, let's."

"You do realize that we will have to postpone our meeting with Koenma now?"

I gasped. "I completely forgot! Can we go Monday?"

"I'm afraid that we may not have time after school. I would suggest that we skip a day, but we are already far behind…"

"Oh. What do you suggest that we do?"

"Well, depending on what time you and Takeshi are finished, we could say that you are spending the night with Botan and come back in time for school tomorrow."

I nodded. "Okay. I'll call you as soon as I leave Takeshi."

The next morning, Takeshi showed up at my house at ten-thirty, as promised. "Good morning," I said. I had been up for quite some time and was sufficiently awake to be in a good mood.

"Good morning. Are you hungry?" I nodded, and the two of us headed towards the hamburger restaurant we always went to in junior high. "I'm glad that we can finally spend some time together. You've been so busy lately." _Spending all of your time with your boyfriend. I know that she says she and Minamino are just friends, but there's something going on there. It hurts that she won't admit it more than anything._

I winced at his thoughts. I wasn't trying to listen in, but they were coming to me so clearly. It was like he was thinking so loudly that I could hear him. "I know I have, and I'm sorry. But Shuichi was helping me with school stuff. He was being so kind, taking time out of his schedule to help me that I couldn't cancel on him."

"You weren't doing schoolwork yesterday." There was an accusation in his voice.

"That was an exception, really."

"Let's not talk about that today," he said suddenly.

"Sounds like a plan," I agreed, relieved.

"So have you decided on a career yet?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I was thinking about working as a newspaper editor. I would be able to keep up with current events, and…" I trailed off as a sudden though occurred to me. Now that I knew I was a demon, my entire life was different. Would my adult life be different as well? Would I be able to have a human job, or should I go to the Makai and get a demon job? What exactly do demons do? I shook my head. _No thinking about that today—at least, not until tonight. For now, I am completely human, thinking about completely human things._ "What about you?"

"I'm considering working at the Japanese Embassy in America. I already speak both languages, so it should be easy for me. Besides, I think it would be fun. Of course, if I can I want to be a professional soccer player, but I don't think I'm that good."

"What are you talking about? In junior high you were great at soccer!"

"Great, yes. Professional level, definitely not. You never know, though."

A sudden shout caught my attention. "Hey, it's Urameshi's new girl!"

It took me a moment to realize that they were referring to me. "What? No, I'm not—"

"Sure you are. I saw you with him the other day," a thug argued.

"Yusuke and I are _not_ going out, nor will we ever be." I glared at the gang, a group of three punks in Sarayashiki uniforms.

One of the goons laughed. "She's got spunk. She's much better suited for Urameshi than Yukimura is. That girl is much too quiet for him. This girl, though, she's perfect. It's good to see that Urameshi finally found someone right for him."

"I told you, I am NOT Yusuke's girlfriend!"

They all laughed this time. "Whatever, sweetheart. Just tell your boyfriend that he'd better behave, or we'll come after you."

At this, Takeshi stepped forward. "You lay a hand on her and I will kill you," he threatened. He was still enough of a gangster that he managed to look very threatening.

"Who are you? Her bodyguard? Or the guy she's cheating on Urameshi with?"

"Neither: I'm her twin brother." We looked enough alike that the guys bought it.

"Okay, man, no need to be so mean about it," one of them said as the guys walked away, leaving us alone.

The look Takeshi gave me made me wish that the thugs had stayed around. His face was unreadable, but I could tell that nothing good was running through his mind. _He's mad at me._ I decided that I had to look into his mind, invasion of privacy or not.

_I guess she was telling the truth when she said Minamino was just helping her study. Apparently Urameshi's her guy. That would explain why she's always sticking up for him whenever I say something bad about him, and why they're together so much…I can't believe it, though. Ri, Urameshi's girl? Things sure have changed since I moved to America…_

I sighed, knowing that there was nothing I could say that would convince Takeshi otherwise. I tried anyway. "Yusuke and I aren't going out, you know. He and Yukimura are still a couple."

Takeshi shrugged. "Whatever."

It was almost four when I called Shuichi to tell him I was ready to go to Koenma's. I told my mother that I was staying the night at Botan's and met Shuichi and Botan at Shuichi's house. Botan made a portal for us, and we went to Koenma's office.

"Koenma, sir, I think that I am ready to remember everything," I said, sounding much more bold than I felt.

Koenma nodded. "Very well, then."

Shuichi and I went back to the white room, and we sat in the chairs. Taking the vial, I stared at it.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I don't want you to think that you must because of me," Shuichi said softly. Even so, I could tell that he wanted me to take it.

"Nor do I."

I jumped, startled to find Yoko Kurama sitting across from me. I shook my head. "I'm doing this because I want to."

"I know that you want Shuichi here with you when it all comes back, but I wanted to tell you this: I am sorry."

"For what?" I asked, perplexed. I was frightened of him, sure, but Yoko had never done anything to apologize for.

Yoko just shook his head. "That's all. I'll let you have Shuichi now."

"Wait." Yoko paused. "Actually, since I'm about to remember everything that happened when I knew you, I was wondering if…maybe…you would stay with me?"

He blinked, surprised. "Of course, Asuka," he replied, settling down in his chair.

Bracing myself, I placed the uncorked vial to my lips and tilted my head back.


	28. Memories

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do, however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, which include, but are not limited to, Riku, Mr. and Mrs. Yamashita, Chiyo, and Takeshi.

Whoops! Zanzagirl made a mistake (so what's new?). Chapter 27 was titled wrong, as you may have noticed. I accidentally gave Chapter 27: Normalcy, the title of Chapter 28: Memories.

Since this story is in first person I couldn't write this, but if you really want a laugh, just picture what's going through Yoko's head during this chapter. Seriously, it's hilarious.

Previously:

"Do you think that sometime soon—tomorrow or next week or something—that we could go to Koenma's and get my memories back?" I asked.

"Before you drink it, I want you to know this: I am sorry," Yoko said quietly. When I asked why, Yoko just shook his head.

"Actually, Yoko, since I'm about to remember everything that happened when I knew you, I was wondering if…maybe…you would stay with me?"

Bracing myself, I placed the uncorked vial to my lips and tilted my head back.

Chapter 28—Memories

Suddenly, everything was hazy, as if the room was filled with fog. However, I knew that the fog was only in my mind. I began to slump forward in my chair, and Yoko catching me was the last thing I felt before I was pulled roughly into my memories.

I was playing outside when my mother called to me. "Asuka, play closer to the house. I don't want you going too close to the heart of the forest." She was a plump woman with deep red hair. Her ears and tail were the red-orange of a red fox.

"Mamma, I'll be fine."

"Asuka, the heart of the forest is dangerous. I'm your mother, and I'm telling you to stay in the clearing."

I sigh. "Yes, Mamma."

She gave me a stern look before turning to go back inside our house.

I kept my promise, staying out of the forest, but I did go closer than I knew I should. _'Mamma's being silly; the forest is safe, or Papa wouldn't let us live so close.' _I entertained myself by making little grass huts for a little village. As I was finishing the last shack, a flash of green in the forest caught my attention. "I wonder what that was," I said aloud, cocking my head to the side. I took a step towards where I had seen the movement. Remembering my mother's order, I glanced nervously back at the house. _'I'll just be gone for a minute; she won't even notice,'_ I thought, turning and running into the heart of the forest.

I wandered around, trying to locate what had moved. An hour later, I was hopelessly lost in the forest. "Mamma's gonna be mad." Just then, I saw him. A startled gasp escaped my lips as I looked upon the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

He was tall, taller even than Papa. He had long, silky hair that glimmered like starlight. Matching ears poked out from the hair, soft-looking and alert. A long, silver tail swished behind him. He was pale, only intensifying the starlight look. He was turned away from me, so that I could not see his face.

I sat there, staring at the kitsune. I had seen kistunes before, of course—after all, I was one. But this stranger was too beautiful to take my eyes off. "Pretty…" I whispered.

Hearing my murmur, the fox turned. His eyes were amber, his features sharp and clean. He had a beautiful face, even if it was cold. He spotted me and raised one eyebrow curiously. "And who would you be?" he asked softly. His voice was smooth and musical, but with a slight trace of menace.

I stepped timidly out from behind the tree. I liked watching him, but speaking to him was another matter entirely. _'He's scary…'_ "A-asuka…"

The kitsune smirked. "Asuka. And what are you doing watching me?"

"Kitsume-sama…you're pretty…"

His smirk grew. "Am I now?"

I nodded shyly. "And…well, I'm lost kitsune-sama, and I was wondering if maybe you could help me get home?"

His gaze hardened and he glanced around us, suddenly wary. "I'm afraid that I cannot. However, I can send you on to the next world." He continued to glance around, as if he expected to find someone watching us.

A rustling sound behind me caused me to turn. Behind me was a huge plant. Since I was in a forest, that may not seem like a big deal. However, this was no ordinary plant. It slithered its thorny vines towards me as if to strangle me.

I shrieked and took a step back instinctively. '_This big plant is going to eat me…'_ I thought, terrified. A sudden though occurred to me. _'Kitsume-sama will save me!'_ Surely the beautiful kitsune was kind; nothing that pretty could be dangerous. I turned and closed the short distance between myself and the yokai, throwing my arm around him. "Please help me, Kitsune-sama!" I begged. I began to sob into his stomach. "I'm scared."

The beautiful fox stiffened as I held onto him for dear life. He said nothing for a minute and just let me cry on him.

When I looked up at him, his face was shocked and appalled. Even so, the plant did not attack me. _'I guess that it's afraid of Kistune-sama.'_

"How old are you, child?"

"I'm ten, kitsune-sama," I answered.

He sighed and suddenly I was swept up into his arms. "Where do you live?" he asked, annoyed.

"In the clearing in the woods."

"That narrows it down," the fox muttered. "I think I know where it is, though."

Within a few minutes I was back in the clearing. My mother saw the kitsune and me and ran quickly toward us, stopping short when she saw the fox clearly. "Yoko Kurama!" she exclaimed, afraid.

I wondered at her fear. _'Kitsune-sama isn't scary. He's too pretty to be mean…'_

"Please, let my daughter go," Mamma begged. "I'll give you anything."

The kitsune, who I know knew was called Yoko Kurama, looked at our house and raised an eyebrow. "You think that you have anything of value to me in that hut?"

My mother blushed. "Please, just let her go."

Yoko Kurama let go, and suddenly I was on the ground at his feet. "I don't want anything you own," he told Mamma before turning and disappearing in the woods.

As soon as he was gone, Mamma was hugging me tightly. "Don't you ever do that again! I told you, Asuka, the heart of the forest is dangerous. You could have been killed."

"Don't worry, Mamma; the pretty kitsune-sama saved me and brought me home," I assured her.

She stared at me in amazement for a moment, and then grew serious. "Asuka, I don't want you to ever go near Yoko Kurama again."

"Why not? I like kitsune-sama."

"Just don't," my mother ordered.

"Yes, Mamma."

My mother didn't let me out of her sight for a week after my encounter with Kitsune-sama. I couldn't play outside, which drove me crazy. I couldn't stand being cooped up in our small hut all day. Eventually my overflow of energy got to my mother, and she let me go out. "Just be careful, and stay close to the house," she said.

I knew that I had promised not to go near Kitsune-sama, but I just had to go find him. _'He was so pretty…and his ears looked so soft…'_ I thought as I wandered toward the forbidden part of the forest.

I walked around the forest for quite some time before I saw the silver fox walking through the woods. He didn't see me, and so I followed him as he went closer and closer to the heart of the forest. Eventually, he came to a small cave, which he entered. I hesitated at the dark mouth, but followed. If Kitsune-sama went, it was safe.

The tunnel was long and dark, but in time it led to a small cavern, with more tunnels branching off into the dark. I stayed in the entry tunnel to keep from getting caught, while Kitsune-sama entered the cavern.

A second demon was already in the cavern, waiting for Kitsune-sama. He was a bat demon, with cruel wings sprouting out of his back and long black hair. He was polishing a silver candelabrum. He glanced at the tunnel after Kitsune-sama emerged. "You brought a friend, Yoko Kurama?"

Kitsune-sama shrugged. "She followed me, and I saw no reason to stop her; she's not a threat." I wilted slightly. Kitsune-sama had known I was following him the entire time. I had thought I was being sneaky.

"She's not yours, is she?"

Kitsune-sama glared at the bat yokai. "No, she is not," he replied coolly. "She found me in the forest a week ago and decided that she liked me." He turned and looked straight at me. "There's no point in hiding. You might as well come on out."

I slowly came out from my hiding place.

"Yoko, you're not seriously going to let her live."

"I can see no reason in killing her; I told you, Kuronue, she's not a threat."

"She knows where our hiding place is now," the bat insisted. "She could tell someone."

Kitsune-sama smirked. "Who would she tell? She lives with her mother in a small clearing in this forest."

The bat, Kuronue, groaned. "Don't tell me you're going soft? We're the best duo of thieves in the Makai, Yoko; going soft is not an option right now."

"I'm not 'going soft,' Kuronue, and I suggest you don't say that ever again," Kitsune-sama growled softly. "I just don't see any point in killing her. What good would it do me?"

"What good would it do you to keep her alive?" Kuronue countered.

"I don't know yet. But I refuse to take action until I know which would benefit me most."

"Fine," Kuronue snapped. "But I'm not taking care of her."

"Neither am I. I am simply letting her live."

I stood in a corner of the cave, not understanding what was going on, but knowing that Kitsune-sama would never let anything hurt me.

Kitsune-sama crossed the room and grabbed something off of a table before sitting in a chair to eat it. Kuronue went back to the silver candelabrum he had been polishing when we came in. I remained standing in the corner, watching.

After a few hours, Kitsune-sama stood and turned to me. "It's time for you to go home," he said.

Kuronue almost feel out of his seat. "You can't take her home! She might tell her mother where we are!"

Kitsune-sama looked at me. "Will you tell anyone where we are?" he asked sternly.

I shook my head vigorously.

"Okay, then. It is settled." He strode back into the tunnel we had come through before, not waiting for me to follow.

I ran after him, and he led me to the edge of the clearing in which I lived. "Thank you, Kitsune-sama!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around him in a hug.

Kitsune-sama stiffened immediately. "Don't do that," he said, prying my arms off of him.

I giggled and ran into my house.

"Where were you? I was worried sick," my mother exclaimed.

"I was playing outside," I answered simply.

"I told you not to go too far from the house, Asuka."

"I didn't!" I lied. "I was playing right behind the house, in a secret spot I found."

Mamma sighed. "Alright. But really, Asuka, come when I call your name."

The next day, as soon as I was free from my mother's watch, I ran into the forest and to the place where I had first met Kitsune-sama.

To my surprise, he was waiting for me. "I figured that you would come here again," he stated simply before turning and walking to the cave where he and Kuronue lived.

I stayed there, watching Kitsune-sama and Kuronue as they went about their day. They said nothing to me, and I didn't bother them. I simply stood in my corner, observing. "Kitsune-sama," I said after a few hours. "I'm hungry."

"We're not feeding her," Kuronue said adamantly, but Kitsune-sama threw me a piece of meat anyway.

"I have a name," he said to me. "And it's not 'Kitsune-sama.'"

I was quiet for a moment. "…Kurama-sama?" I burst into giggles.

Kitsune-sama closed his eyes, annoyed, while Kuronue chuckled. "No."

"Then what?"

Yoko Kurama thought for a moment, and then shook his head, defeated. "Kitsune-sama is fine," he ceded, though obviously not pleased with the nickname.

When it was time for me to leave, Yoko Kurama stood and exited the cavern without a word. I followed behind him, and he led me home.

This pattern went on for six years: I snuck away from my home, met Yoko Kurama in the forest, followed him to the cave, and stayed there until it was time for me to go home. As I grew older, I left before sunrise, and Yoko Kurama met me then instead. Yoko Kurama walked me to the edge of the clearing, and I went home and made an excuse to my mother about why I hadn't heard her calling me. I think she knew that I was lying, but she decided that since I always came home safe there was no point in questioning me. 

Kuronue and I never quite became friends, but we did reach an understanding of one another. I was comfortable and happy in my life. I was nowhere near ready for the change that was about to befall us.


	29. Memories Part II

NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do, however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, which include, but are not limited to, Riku, Mr. and Mrs. Yamashita, Chiyo, and Takeshi.

Chapter 29: Memories (Part II)

I no longer had to follow Yoko Kurama to the cave, but I met him at our tree anyway. He was sometimes away on long excursions, and I hated being alone with Kuronue. He was never outright rude to me, but he made his dislike and disapproval of me quite clear. Honestly, I was afraid of what Kuronue would do to me if Yoko Kurama wasn't around—not that I let him know that.

One morning I went to the tree at our usual time, not really expecting him but hoping for his presence. He hadn't been there for the past week, and I was starting to miss my cold companion. As expected, Yoko Kurama was not at the tree. I sighed and went back home, unwilling to do my chores.

It was time for breakfast when I returned to the hut. "Where were you so early?" Papa asked me.

"I wanted to see the stars."

"Hn." Papa was tall, but not nearly as tall as Kitsune-sama. He was a black fox yokai. Dark hair with streaks of silver curled around his ears, which were also turning grey. His mother had been a psychic, and he, too, had powers of telepathy. However, he held a strict policy of allowing people, even his daughter, to run their own lives and make their own mistakes, and so he didn't question my lie.

I helped set the table with our earthenware dishes and we sat down to eat. I finally decided to ask my father a question that had been bothering me for quite some time. "Papa," I asked. "If you got your telepathy from grandma, shouldn't I have gotten the ability from you?"

Papa looked up. "You did," he answered, slightly surprised by my question. "Because it is difficult for parents to raise children with psychic abilities, it is common in many psychic communities for parents to bind their children's powers until they are old enough to use them properly. Of course, it sometimes takes years for even an adult to learn how to control new powers, but that is the price to be paid."

"So that's what you did to me?" at his nod, I continued. "When will I be old enough to use my powers?"

"When you come of age," he replied. "Which is in a few days, I believe."

I nodded. My birthday was just a week away.

Just then, my mother cut into the conversation. "Asuka, could you throw the scraps out?" she asked, handing me a dish piled high with bones and eggshells. We always threw the scraps out into a fire pit behind our house.

"Yes ma'am," I responded, taking the dish and stepping outside into the pre-dawn darkness. Most of the stars were still visible, and I stood there watching them, entranced by their beauty. The cool air swirled around me in its usual currents. I sighed, at peace with the world.

Suddenly I was swept off my feet, and the next thing I knew I was being carried into the forest. It was too dark to see the face of my captor. The scent was familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. All that I knew was that I didn't like it. It was a dangerous scent.

Finally I was dropped roughly to the ground. I looked around and realized that I was in the cave. A noise behind me caused me to turn, and I saw Kuronue placing a large boulder over the cavern's exit. _'This is it,' _I thought. _'He's going to kill me now…'_

"Yoko Kurama, as you probably noticed, has been away for eight days," the bat demon said. "He was supposed to be back two days ago. It seems to me ask though something has happened."

I stared at him, unsure of how to react. "Sure you don't think that I had anything to do with his disappearance?" I asked incredulously.

Kuronue looked at me in disbelief. "Of course not. However, I do believe that it is in the best interests of both Yoko Kurama and I to keep you here for awhile, at least until he returns."

I did not like this arrangement in the least, but decide not to argue. It wouldn't be wise to tell Kuronue that I was afraid of him. I shrugged. "Fine. But I'm not putting up with you if you snore."

"Just shut up and go to sleep," he snapped.

Sleep? Oh, yes. Kuronue was a bat demon and a thief; both were nocturnal. He normally slept in the afternoons when I came over, but I guess he was tired. Shrugging again, I went onto what I knew was where the sleeping quarters were and curled up on Yoko Kurama's bed, recognizable by the fact that it was on the ground rather than hanging from the ceiling.

"Onna, what are you doing?" Kuronue demanded.

"Going to sleep, of course."

"Not there, you're not. That's Yoko Kurama's bed. I don't care how much you think he favors you, you're not sleeping there."

"Well, I'm certainly not sleeping on the floor." Of course, I slept on the floor every night, but there was no need for him to know that.

Kuronue snorted. "You've probably never slept on a decent bed in your life. That shack you call a house can't possibly hold two beds."

I blushed, but had my back turned to him so that he couldn't see. "Will you leave me alone? I'm trying to sleep."

I heard him growl and step towards me.

"Don't touch me. You know Kitsune-sama would get angry if I got hurt."

"I doubt it. He's just too lazy to kill you himself." Despite his comment, he kept his distance, turning and going to his own bed. The truth was, he didn't know what Yoko Kurama would do if I was injured.

That evening Kuronue was shaking me awake. "Get up, onna."

"Why should I? We're just going to stay in here all day—night."

"That doesn't mean that I'm going to let you sleep all night. I'm hungry."

"Then eat," I snapped.

"You're a woman—cook."

I growled at him. "You've lived just fine feeding yourself until now. I think you'll be fine without me."

"Get. up." he commanded.

I sighed and rolled off of the bed onto the floor, not because I was afraid—even though I was—but because I knew that he would continue to bother me until I got up, preventing sleep. "What do you want?"

"I don't know; fix anything." He followed me into the main cavern and sat in his usual chair while I walked to the food bins.

"Bread and cheese?"

Kuronue made a face. "Of course not."

I tried again. "Fish?"

"Disgusting."

"Venison?"

"Not for breakfast."

"Pork?"

"No."

Turning my back to him, I bit my lip and closed my eyes, pushing back the urge to scream at him. "Then what do you want?"

"Anything sounds good."

I remained facing the food, my back toward Kuronue, as I struggled to control my temper. It wouldn't do to push him over the edge when there was no one to protect me. "Beef?"

"I hate beef; that's Yoko's."

"Toast?"

"I already said 'no' to bread. What makes you think I would say 'yes' to toast?"

"Goat?"

"Too hairy for my taste."

"Fruit juice?"

"That's not breakfast, that's a beverage."

"Fox?" I snapped before I could stop myself.

There was a long silence. I longed to turn around and see Kuronue's face, but I was too afraid.

Suddenly he was beside me, watching me. "Yes," he said slowly. "That would be nice. Fox is one of the best types of meat. I used to eat it all the time."

I stood stock still, terrified, but determined not to shudder. Showing my fear would only make him more frightening.

"However, Yoko Kurama is not fond of fox being eaten in his house. Besides, there are no real fox in this area; only fox demons. And I do believe that some would consider that cannibalism, even if I am a bat demon." He turned away, and I let out the breath that I had been holding.

"What do you want to eat, then?" I asked, working hard to keep my voice steady.

"I'm not really all that hungry. I think I'll go back to bed."

It took every ounce of self-control I had left to not scream. _There's no point in making him mad, there's no point in making him mad…_I thought, trying to calm myself down. When I was sufficiently composed, I thought about what to do next. I really wanted to go back to bed, but I wasn't about to go into the same room as Kuronue if I could help it; he had frustrated me enough for one day. Sighing, I curled up in a corner of the main cavern and tried to sleep.

I was awakened later by Kuronue shuffling around in the main cavern. "I'm hungry," he complained when he saw that I was conscious.

_Here we go again. _"What do you want?"

"Venison." He answered immediately.

_He's making it easy this time, _I thought, relieved. I stood, stretched, and walked over to prepare the food. Half an hour later I handed Kuronue a steaming plate of venison and a hunk of bread. Taking another plate for myself, I sat in the chair that Yoko Kurama normally occupied.

Kuronue glanced at me, annoyed, but made no comment. Instead, he stuffed a large chunk of meant into his mouth. He swallowed quickly and glared at me. "This is terrible! Where did you learn to cook?"

I glanced up, surprised. "It's good," I answered, perplexed and slightly offended.

"What kind of food do you eat?" he asked gruffly. Despite his complaints, he ate the entire plate and got up to get another.

When we had both finished eating, we sat in silence. The quiet was finally broken by me. "I'm sure that my family is worried about me by now. I've been gone almost two days."

"There's nothing I can do about that. If I let you out, you might get caught, which would be bad for Yoko Kurama and me—assuming, of course, that Yoko Kurama is still alive."

My head snapped up, startled. "Of course he's alive! They couldn't possibly kill him." The thought of Kitsune-sama dead was too strange for me to comprehend.

Kuronue just shrugged. "He should have been home by now if he was alive. I'll give him another few days before I proclaim him dead, though."

"I'm tired," I muttered absently, standing and walking towards the sleeping cavern. It couldn't have been later than two in the afternoon, but I was exhausted. I fell into Yoko Kurama's bed and slept deeply, nightmares of a dying kitsune chasing through my dreams.


End file.
